BOIP Annual report 2016

Annual Report 2016 www.boip.int

1 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Contents 3

Introduction

9

Trademarks

16 Designs 20 i-DEPOT 23 Organisation 25

Summary financial statements

32

Independent auditor’s report

2 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Introduction Interview with Mr Edmond Simon, Director General

In many respects, 2016 was a turbulent year. On the one hand, there was the political shock of the BREXIT vote and mounting societal tensions in Europe. On the other hand, we also experienced some positive developments such as the economic recovery in the EU. Time certainly did not stand still for the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) either, as Edmond Simon, the BOIP’s Director General, explains.

Looking back on 2016, what kind of year was it for you?

‘In a word, I would say “dynamic”. Looking at our primary activities, trademark filings were down slightly compared to 2015, but that was also a special case in light of the trademark campaign we conducted in the Netherlands that year. There were slightly fewer trademark renewals than in 2015, but the number of oppositions went up 11%.

And whilst the number of i-DEPOTs remained about the same, there was a big jump in

3 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

i-DEPOT extensions of the retention period, by 61%! Design registration renewals also substantially increased. So although there was a downward tendency overall, we have no cause to be dissatisfied, certainly considering our excellent results in other areas over the year.

What did the BOIP accomplish in 2016?

One thing we focused on was the transposal of the new European Trademark Package directive, which required intensive collaboration with our interested circles. In particular, we held productive discussions in the Benelux Council of Intellectual Property, which issued two recommendations, and with political bodies, most notably the COREMO, a subsidiary body of our Executive Board. We also began preparation work for the administrative procedure for invalidity and revocation. All sorts of facets need to be worked out, such as amendment of the text of the implementing regulations, determining fees, reviewing our internal processes and informing our users.

2016 saw the completion of our first full operating year on Sint Maarten, a proud milestone for the BOIP! We’re also immensely pleased that Luxembourg took the Benelux Patent Platform (BPP) into operation. With the BPP’s implementation now complete, we can confidently declare that the project was a resounding success.

What other results is the BOIP particularly proud of?

Our organisation made huge strides in digitisation last year. In September 2016 we rolled out the first version of our new back office for design filings. Coupled with the e-filing we can now avail of a fully automated process for processing design applications. We also implemented a new Business Intelligence tool that contributes to more efficient tracking of our results while drawing on reliable up-to-date statistical data enables us to charter our course more effectively. And we upgraded our entire hardware infrastructure, which has improved the stability and security of our online services.

At the front office end of things, we restructured our online i-DEPOT application in a new technology. This now also enables our users to publicise all or part of an i-DEPOT on our online platform, i-D Space, where people can also lodge objections against published

4 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

i-DEPOTs, through the Notice and Takedown procedure. Representatives can also use this new application to file i-DEPOTs on behalf of their clients, a functionality which was eagerly expected by a number of our users.

Another result was the development of a strategy, visual concept and prototype for our new BOIP website. Dating back 11 years, it is past due for replacement. The new site, which will be built this year, will enable us to be of even greater service to our customers from now on.

Also worth mentioning is that the BOIP undertook some major internal changes as well, such as the introduction of the new IPSAS accounting rules for international organisations and finalisation of our internal operating rules. All in all, we worked incredibly hard last year, living up to our new motto “Change is the challenge”!

Which developments on the international front impacted BOIP in 2016?

In 2016 the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) changed its name to European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) as a result of the reforms to the trademarks system in the EU. At the same time, the term “Community Trade Mark” has been replaced by “EU Trade Mark” and the fees have been restructured. For us specifically, it meant we had to rewrite texts on our website and in our brochures and correspondence. Also significant for us is that the Trademark Package has made cooperation between the EUIPO and national offices, including the BOIP, a permanent, structural activity.

How does the BOIP work with other organisations?

We work very closely with partners both in and outside the Benelux region. For instance, the Rijksdienst Dutch Caribbean has charged the BOIP with execution of the Trademarks Act for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. This trademark law applies to these three special Dutch municipalities. We also provide back office services for the island of Sint Maarten, working with the Bureau for Intellectual Property of Sint Maarten (BIP SXM), which takes care of all the legal processes and providing information to the public.

On a European level, we took part in strategic discussions at EUIPO and are an active contributor to the new European Cooperation Projects (ECP). The importance of cooperation among the national offices is clearly increasing across the board, at the

5 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

national, European and international level. Partly in response to this, we appointed an International Cooperation Officer in February 2016. This member of the legal staff is now our fixed liaison for international cooperation.

What legal developments does 2017 have in store?

In 2017 we will be forging ahead with our efforts to transpose the new directive resulting from the Trademark Package. We will be finalising the initial version of an amendment protocol to the Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property (BCIP) in the authorised consultation body, the PIC, for which the entry into force deadline is January 2019. We already know that this protocol will have a huge impact on our primary activities, among other things imposing new absolute and relative grounds. Another focus area concerns preparation work for the entry into force of a couple of key texts – the BCIP amendment protocols of May 2014 and December 2014, containing provisions on the new tasks of the Benelux Court of Justice and the implementation of the administrative invalidity procedure – for which entry into force is slated for early 2018. Last but not least, I can also report that the composition of the Benelux Council will be changing, mainly in order to balance out the number of representative organisations delegated from each country.

The first meeting of the new Benelux Council will be scheduled to take place after this summer.

Looking ahead, what are the BOIP’s short-term ambitions?

At present, the overriding concern is the financial health of our organisation. By analysing the figures over several years, we have noted a structural decline in our results, attributable in part to increased competition from the EUIPO, coupled with a structural rise in costs which has been compounded by the implementation of new pension regulations. So our angle on the future is strategic. While we aim to stick to our ambitions, we find ourselves in the position that we have to set firm priorities. Our top priority in 2017 is the completion of two key organisation-wide projects: implement our back office for internal processing of trademark applications and build the new website.

The first project will allow us to optimise our internal processes and achieve efficiency gains. We expect the first version of our new back office to go into production in

6 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

December 2017. The other project, the new website, is intended to improve our name recognition, the findability of our services and the provision of information. The new website is planned to go live before the end of this year.

Next to the closing of several current projects, our plans for this year include expanding the My BOIP portal with a variety of self-service tools, including an interactive product overview. As our customers know well, the BOIP rarely sits still, and we always set the bar high to ensure we continue to provide the best possible service to our users. That, in short, is our ongoing mission.’

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Trademarks

8 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

TR AD EM AR

Benelux filings 2012-2016 1 2

KS

2016 Benelux filings (in numbers)

21,778

Of which submitted online (in %)

99.06

2015

22,211

98.56

2014

20,478

98.71

2013 21,178

95.88

2012 21,492

93.67

1 The numbers of filings are accounted for by the date of receipt of the request.

2 These statistics also comprise lapsed filings. Part of the lapsed filings is missing an application number and thus a country of origin. As a result some discrepancies exist between the figures contained in this table and those contained in the table entitled ‘Benelux filings by country of origin’.

Collective trademarks 2012-2016 (in numbers) 1 2 2016 88 2015

62

2014

70

2013 73 2012

89

1 The numbers of filings are accounted for by the date of receipt of the request.

2 These statistics also comprise lapsed filings. Part of the lapsed filings is missing an application number and thus a country of origin. As a result some discrepancies exist between the figures contained in this table and those contained in the table entitled ‘Benelux filings by country of origin’.

9 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

TR AD EM AR

Breakdown of Benelux filings by payment method 2012-2016 (in numbers)

KS

2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Bancontact/Mister Cash

814 702 432 456 181

Current account

6,017 5,208 3,998 3,437 1,763

iDEAL 4,273 4,653 3,478 3,400 2,098 MasterCard 1,326 1,414 1,058 932 509 Money transfer

4,171 3,824 5,343 5,635 2,816

Not online 4,102 5,231 5,243 6,656 13,716 Visa 1,062 1,170 938 728 415 Other 13 8 53 23 75

Breakdown of Benelux filings by language 2012-2016

2016 2015 2014 2013 2012

Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % English 2,997 13.76

2,675 12.04

1,729 8.42

French 3,193 14.66

3,377 15.20

3,293 16.03

3,539 16.64

3,503 16.24

Dutch 15,588 71.58

16,158 72.75

15,521 75.55

17,322 81.45

18,070 83.76

Total 21,778 100

22,210 100

20,543 100

21,267 100

21,573 100

406 1.91

1 In 2013, English was introduced as a third working language, in addition to French and Dutch.

10 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

01 0

TR AD EM AR

Breakdown of Benelux filings by country of origin 2016

KS

Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg 12,690 6,305 1,090

U.S. Japan Other EU Other 298 25 874 489

Breakdown of Benelux filings by country of origin 2012-2016

2016 2015 2014 2013 2012

Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Netherlands 12,690 58.29 13,300 59.90 12,517 61.10 13,095 61.8 13,933 64.8 Belgium 6,305 29.00 6,208 28.00 5,475 26.80 5,711 27.0 5,436 25.3 Luxembourg 1,090 5.00

1,137 5.10

1,089 5.30

877 4.1

819 3.8

U.S. 298 1.40 339 1.50 287 1.40 299 1.4 266 1.2 Japan 25 0.10 32 0.10 44 0.20 39 0.2 48 0.2 Other EU

874 4.01 744 3.40 599 2.90 655 3.1 631 3.0

Other

489 2.25 451 2.00 467 2.30 502 2.4 359 1.7

Total 21,771 100

22,211 100

11 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

20,478 100

21,178 100

21,492 100

TR AD EM AR

Number of trademarks published 2012-2016 (in numbers)

KS

Individual Collective Total 2016 18,929 66 18,995 2015 19,149 54 19,203 2014 18,191 52 18,243 2013 18,721 76 18,797 2012 18,121 77 18,198

Requests for renewal 2012-2016 (in numbers) Individual Collective Total 2016

13,153 60 13,213

2015 14,717 53 14,770 2014 12,436 47 12,483 2013 12,138 57 12,195 2012 12,656 63 12,719

International registrations applied for via BOIP 2012-2016 (in numbers) 2016

1,665

2015 2,007 2014 2013 2012

1,871 1,897 1,776

International registrations valid in the Benelux region 2012-2016 (in numbers) 2016

2,113

2015 2014

3,962 3,648

2013 4,224 2012

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3,985

TR AD EM AR

Refusals on absolute grounds - 2015 Statistics 1

KS

Number % Benelux filings Total 2 21,527 100

Filed by trademark proprietors

9,024

41.92

Filed by agents 12,503 58.08

Provisional refusals

Total 1,687 7.84

Full 1,614 7.50

Partial 73 0.34

Filed by trademark proprietors

858

9.51

Filed by agents 829 6.63

Filings resulting in registration despite provisional refusal 3 142 0.66

Filings withdrawn by request / cancelled priority registrations

264

1.23

Filings excluded from further processing

27

0.13

Objection period still underway (1.15 Implementing Regulations)

7

0.03

Final refusals Total 4 1,247 5.79

Of which cancelled priority registrations

95

Full 1,199 5.57

Partial 48 0.22

Filed by trademark proprietors 5 760 8.42

Filed by agents 5 487 3.90

Objections lodged 305

No objections lodged 942

Appeal lodged (Article 2.12 BCIP) 6

In Belgium 3

In the Netherlands 0

In Luxembourg 0

13 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

TR AD EM AR

Notes to the table ‘Refusals on absolute grounds’

KS 1 The statistics for 2016 are not yet available due to the deadlines specified for this procedure.

2 Only the admissable filings are included in these statistics.

3 This mainly concerns provisional refusals that were reversed following a response from the trademark proprietors/agents, e.g. when the filing was limited or proof of naturalisation was produced.

4 The percentage of final refusals has risen considerably over the past few years. This can be explained in part by changes in the registration procedure, which have reduced the number of filings that are excluded from further processing.

5 These refusal percentages are calculated relative to the number of filings submitted by trademark proprietors/agents.

6 In contrast to all other figures in this table, the totals of which have been calculated based on the filing date in the relevant year, the number of appeals has been calculated on the basis of the appeal submission date.

Development of refusals on absolute grounds versus the number of filings 2007-2015 12 11.02

10.89 10.42

10 9.19

9.19

8.56

8

8.14

8.19

8.22 7.18

7.58

7.21

7.84

6.71 6.17

6.04

6

5.49

5.79

4 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Provisional refusals Final refusals

14 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

2012

2013

2014

2015

TR AD EM AR

Oppositions

KS

Number % Admissable 1,070 97.6 Inadmissable 26 2.4 Total 1,096 100

Cancelled in 2016 (admissable oppositions) Total 622 58.1 Still under consideration (admissable oppositions)

Of 2016 448 41.9

Preferred language (admissable oppositions)

Dutch 730 68.2

French 175 16.4

English 165 15.4

Opposition filed against (admissable oppositions)

Benelux law 1,013 94.7

International law 57 5.3

Opposition based on (admissable oppositions)1

Benelux trademark 365 34.1

European Union trademark

731

68.3

International trademark 212 19.8

1 Multiple types of rights can be invoked for each opposition.

15 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Designs

16 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

DE SI GN

Benelux designs 2012-2016 (in numbers) 1

S

2016 Benelux designs 957 Number of designs published 952 2015

2014

2013

1,161

1,028

847

763

2012

988

866

1,044

1,080

987

1 The figures contained in these tables are accounted for by the number of designs filed ant not the number of filings. The figures only cover valid designs.

Requests for renewal 2012-2016 (in numbers) 1 2016 871 2015 2014

742

632

2013 2012

760

721

1 The figures contained in these tables are accounted for by the number of designs filed ant not the number of filings. The figures only cover valid designs.

17 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

DE

2015

91.04 8.96

S

98.43

GN

2016

SI

Type of submission 2012-2016 (in %) 1 2

1.57

2014

67.77 32.23

2013

100

988 2012

100

Online

On paper

1 The figures contained in these tables are accounted for by the number of designs filed ant not the number of filings. The figures

only cover valid designs.

2 Since 2014 designs can be submitted electronically.

18 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

i-DEPOT

19 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

i-D EP OT

Online i-DEPOT 2016 (in numbers)

Other 208

2,887

2,288

245

Online i-DEPOT 2012-2016 (in numbers)

2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Belgium 2,288 2,294 2,216 2,105 2,000 Netherlands 2,887 2,937 3,281 3,840 3,359 Luxembourg 245 177 247 151 182 Other 208 156 122 131 97 Total 5,628 5,564 5,866 6,227 5,638

20 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

i-D EP

2016 Sold

OT

i-DEPOT envelopes 2012-2016 (in numbers)

337

Returned 307 2015

381

2014

469

394 372

2013

499

401 2012

466

Breakdown of i-DEPOT envelopes by country 2012-2016 (in numbers)

2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Belgium

129 135 153 172 224

Netherlands 123 180 179 176 202 Luxembourg 45 43 25 42 33 Other

10 23 15 11 7

Total 307 381 372 401 466

Number of i-DEPOT storage period extensions 2012-2016 (in numbers) 2016

747

2015

464

2014

325

2013

180

2012

15

21 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

487

Organisation

22 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Organisation

Our office is situated in The Hague. BOIP has 89 employees. We work closely with the national offices in Brussels and Luxembourg.

Number of employees

31-12-16 31-12-15 NL 66 65 B 18 17 L 3 3 FR 2 2 Total 89 87

Male 43 41 Female 46 46

Number of FTEs (full-time equivalents) 80.6 77.5

National offices National Office Belgium

National Office Luxembourg

Federal Economic Service

Ministère de l’Economie et du Commerce extérieur

Small and Medium-Sized Businesses and Energy

Office de la propriété intellectuelle

Market Regularisation and Organisation Board

Boulevard Royal 19-21

Intellectual Property Unit

L -2449 Luxembourg

City Atrium - C Vooruitgangsstraat 50

T +352 247 841 13

1210 Brussels

F +352 222 6 60

T +32 800 120 33

dpi@eco.etat.lu

F +32 2 277 52 62

www.eco.public.lu

piie.trademarks@economie.fgov.be http://economie.fgov.be/opri-die.jsp

23 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Summary financial statements

24 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Summary financial statements Notes to the 2016 summary financial statements This chapter contains a summary of the internal financial statements for the 2016 financial year. The independent auditor’s report only covers the balance sheet, the income statement and the accompanying notes in the financial chapter of this Annual Report.

There are no generally accepted criteria available for compiling summary financial statements. Therefore, the Management Board itself has developed these criteria.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensible summary of the BOIP’s internal financial statements. The criteria and the aggregation level applied in this summary are based on this purpose.

The balance sheet as at 31 December 2016 and the 2016 income statement from the internal financial statements are fully incorporated in this summary. The statement of changes in equity has also been added, as required by the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

The internal financial statements are based on IPSAS. These summary financial statements only state the accounting policies for a number of material items. The notes required under IPSAS are set out in a simplified manner, taking account of the intended purpose of these summary financial statements.

The accompanying summary was issued at a later date than the internal financial statements. Because this document only intends to provide a summary of the original internal financial statements for the 2016 financial year, the events in the interim period have not been taken into account.

Reading this summary may not substitute reading the original internal financial statements for the 2016 financial year due to the fact that various simplifications have been introduced. Users who need more information can view a copy of the internal financial statements at BOIP’s office.

25 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Balance sheet 2016 (after appopriation of the result)

In thousands of euros

31 Dec. 2016

31 Dec. 2015

Assets Current assets Cash at bank and in hand 6,555 4,973 Receivables, prepayments and accrued income 2,488 4,051

9,043

9,024

Fixed assets Financial fixed assets 12,696 12,021 Tangible fixed assets 6,563 6,566 Intangible fixed assets 4,726 3,808

23,985 22,395

Total assets 33,028 31,419

Liabilities Current liabilities, accruals and deferred income

6,364 5,486

Non-current liabilities Employee benefits 23,184 17,753 BPP 2,725 2,508

25,909

20,261

Equity Cumulative surplus 755 5,672

Total liabilities 33,028 31,419

26 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Notes to the balance sheet • The summary financial statements have been prepared in compliance with Articles 19 and 20 of BOIP’s financial regulations.

• Bonds, shares and other investments are stated at fair value. The realised and unrealised results are recognised in the income statement.

• The tangible and intangible fixed assets are stated at cost or on the basis of the costs incurred, less accumulated depreciation and, if applicable, less impairments.

• Current liabilities mainly comprise deferred income (payments for services not yet rendered).

• Non-current liabilities largely consist of liabilities relating to employee benefit schemes, which under IPSAS are required to be recognised under liabilities.

• The cumulative surplus comprises the accumulated earnings as well as the movements in non-current liabilities that are taken directly to equity. In 2016, this was the adjustment of the notional interest rate, from 2.5% to 1.9%, that was used to calculate employee benefits under non-current liabilities. For pension liabilities and medical expenses after retirement, this resulted in an addition of €3,431,000 and €167,000 respectively.

27 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Income statement 2016 In thousands of euros

Budget 2016 2016 2015

Revenue Turnover from filings 5,811 5,739 5,777 Turnover from renewals 4,067 3,789 4,228 Contribution EZ brand campaign the Netherlands

0

0

381

Other 5,254 5,108 5,509 Total revenue

15,132

14,636

15,895

Operating costs Salary costs 8,391 8,370 8,104 Social security contributions 1,067 1,537 1,530 Pension costs 2,941 3,303 3,439 Other staff costs 631 1,379 838 Internal tax and social levies -2,714 -2,430 -2,432 Staff costs

10,316

12,159

11,479

Depreciation costs 1,667 1,462 895 Other operating costs 2,927 2,910 3,321 Less: total operating costs

14,910 16,531 15,695

Result

222 -1,895

200

393

309

Financial income and expenses Interest income and dividend

358

Deal performance investments 107 278 251 Exchange differences 0 -5 255 Bank charges -92 -90 -93 Total financial income and expenses

373

576

722

Surplus (+) / Deficit (-)

595 -1,319

922

28 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Notes to the income statement BOIP recorded a deficit of €1,319,000 (2015: €922,000 surplus). The fall in income is attributable to lower turnover and significantly higher costs.

• The budgets included in the summary financial statements have not been audited.

• Revenue relates to the revenue derived from services rendered in the financial year.

• The cost price of these services is allocated to the same period. If the bottom-line result of a service cannot be determined in a reliable manner, but is expected to be positive, only the revenue amounting to the sum of the costs is recognised. If these costs cannot be reliably determined, revenues are not recognised in the interim period but on completion of the service. However, the costs already incurred are recognised in the income statement.

• BOIP has a defined pension plan, due to which a debt position must be recognised for future general salary increases (indexed average earnings pension scheme) and future warranty costs. The total liability amounts to €17,296,000 (2015: €13,446,000).

• The turnover recorded of €14,636,000 was clearly lower than budget (€15,136,000).

This is mainly due to lower turnover from renewals (€278,000) and lower international revenues (€253,000).

• The staff costs of €12,159,000 were clearly higher than budget (€10,316,000). As a result of the application of the IPSAS standards (after the budget had already been adopted), the provision for medical expenses after retirement had to be built up across the remaining years of service until retirement rather than at once. This involved an additional charge of €514,000. Due to the fact that six employees began to make use of the part-time working scheme for older staff (PAS regeling) in the same year, an addition of €655,000 was made to the provision for the above scheme. Similarly, in terms of pensions, the application of IPSAS was the main cause of higher pension costs (€362,000).

29 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

• The depreciation costs recorded of €1,462,000 remained well within budget (budget: €1,667,000) as a result of depreciation on a number of projects/constituent projects commencing later than expected.

• Other costs decreased in the financial year to €2,910,000 (2015: €3,321,000), as one-off costs had been incurred for a marketing campaign in the previous year (€564,000). There is hardly any variance against budget (€2,927,000).

30 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Statement of changes 2016 Operating

Reserve

Total

surpluses revaluation Equity as at 1 January 2015

3,223

0

3,223

Non-current liabilities – employee benefits due a change in the notional interest rate

Pension

Equity as at 31 December 2015

1,449

78

78

922

922

Healthcare after retirement 2015 operating result

1,449

4,145

1,527

5,672

Non-current liabilities – employee benefits due a change in the notional interest rate

Pension

Equity as at 31 December 2016

-3,431

-167

-167

-1,319

-1,319

Healthcare after retirement 2016 operating result

-3,431

2,826

31 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

-2,071

755

Independent auditor’s report

32 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

Independent auditor’s report An auditor’s report was issued for the Dutch version of this annual report. The figures in this external annual report correspond to those published in the Dutch annual report.

33 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)

34 Annual Report 2016 – Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)