Inclusion in and consultation of the Register of Patent Attorneys

If you intend to work as a patent attorney in the Netherlands, you are required to be included in the Register of Patent Attorneys (Octrooigemachtigdenregister). To be included, you can apply to the managing director of NL Patent Office (NL Octrooicentrum). In some cases, you can apply for an exemption from the Supervisory Board (Raad van Toezicht) of the Netherlands Institute of Patent Attorneys (Orde van Octrooigemachtigden).

Rules of conduct and lifelong learning

As a patent attorney, you must observe a number of rules of conduct, which have been laid down by the Netherlands Institute of Patent Attorneys. As a member of the Institute, you are furthermore obliged to keep your knowledge up to date through lifelong learning. You must annually provide the Supervisory Board of the Institute of Patent Attorneys with an overview of the training you received.

Consultation of the Register of Patent Attorneys

You can check whether someone is a patent attorney by consulting the Register of Patent Attorneys (Octrooigemachtigdenregister). You can search by:

• Name of patent agent or office
• Postcode
• Town or city
• Discipline

Online registration procedure via Message Box

You can submit requests to be listed in the Register of Patent Attorneys also online via Message Box.