Register a trade mark for a hairdressing salon

Registering a trademark for a hair salon

Registering a trademark for a hair salon can be done through the BOIP for the Benelux or through the EUIPO for the entire European Union, depending on where the salon is currently located or plans to expand. The name or logo of the hair salon is thereby protected for specific services — hairdressing services and possibly related products such as care lines — classified according to the Nice Classification. Without that registration, there is no exclusive right to the name: another entrepreneur can have the same or a very similar name registered and subsequently prohibit the original creator from using it, even if that creator has been using the name for longer.

With a hair salon, it is often the case that the name sounds simple or descriptive — think of a word that refers to hair, cutting or style. Whether such a name is sufficiently distinctive to be registered becomes apparent from the assessment by the register itself; a conflict search beforehand provides an indication of this by checking whether similar names already exist in the public registers. That indication is not a guarantee that an application will be accepted, but it does help to get a picture of the risk of a collision with an existing trademark before applying.

What this is based on: BOIP, EUIPO and the Nice Classification

The fact that a trademark for a hair salon goes through the BOIP or the EUIPO follows from the division of tasks between these two registers: the BOIP handles Benelux marks, the EUIPO Union marks that apply in all EU member states. Which services and products fall under the application is determined using the Nice Classification of the WIPO, the international system by which goods and services are classified into classes. Both registers maintain their own public database, in which existing trademarks can be found and against which a new application can be checked.