How do I get protection for my trade name ?

A trade name belongs to the individual or company who uses it first, for example using this name as your domain name, mentioning it on your business documents, invoices, on your shop frontage, etc. No formal registration is required. This explains why the same trade names can be used in different regions/cities. In every village, you might find a pub called ‘The Square’. Although it’s not obligatory, registration might still be beneficial, for example to prove when you used the name for the first time. This (optional) registration can be done at different entities. For Belgium you can do this at the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, and in the Netherlands at the Chamber of Commerce.