Who is "BenBot"? LexDellmeier’s chatbot for EU trademark applications!

LexDellmeier in the past eight months has developed and now launched "BenBot" – version 1.0 – a chatbot who assists in answering questions relating to EU trademark applications. Special features include an identical search, automatic classification of goods and services and overall costs. Find BenBot on the landing page of the website www.lexdellmeier.com.

Want to know more about BenBot. Here are some Q's and A's in a nutshell:

Q: What can BenBot assist with?

A: BenBot helps answer basic questions relating to EU trademarks. You can enter your trademark, BenBot asks what products or services you wish to protect and automatically classifies them. And, BenBot can do an identical search for word marks. In addition, the costs relating to an EU trademark application are calculated.

Q: Does the use of BenBot cost anything?

A: No. BenBot is free of cost and available 24/7. Therefore, the chatbot is great for start-ups or international clients who are in different time zones and want to get a quick and easy overview about EU trademark applications.

Q: Does BenBot file an EU application?

A: No. BenBot helps answer the user's questions, records the user's answers and informs the LexDellmeier trademark team about the user's inquiry automatically through BenBot. What LexDellmeier has created is the version 1.0 of a chatbot for EU trademarks. It was the aim to create a simple tool to help answer questions relating to the EU trademark application process. The chatbot user does not need to have any prior knowledge about EU trademarks. He just needs to answer the questions BenBot asks - quick and simple in approx. 8 - 10 minutes.

Q: What happens after the user has submitted everything through BenBot?

A: The LexDellmeier team reverts to the user - usually within 24 - 48 h in order to maybe discuss some further aspects of the application that BenBot himself cannot assess yet. For example: It is possible to upload word marks, word/device marks and pure device marks. However, it could be that the potential trademark includes elements which in general cannot be protected as a trademark according to applicable EU case law. BenBot version 1.0 cannot legally (yet) assess the application. For this reason, the LexDellmeier trademark team reviews the given information and contacts the user in order to further assist or discuss the EU trademark application in further detail.

Q: Where does the name "BenBot" come from?

A: "Ben" is the name of LexDellmeier’s office dog - a funny and always in a good mood rough-haired dachshund, who everyone at the office loves.

PS: Of course, “BenBot” is protected as a trademark.

Q: Who had the idea for BenBot and who developed the chatbot?

A: The idea came from Alexandra (Dellmeier). Project leader was LexDellmeier's fantastic summer law intern in 2020 and ELSA law student, Oliwia Puto. Oliwia, with some guidance from Alexandra, developed the whole project plan internally and externally for the (software) developer, set up the time plan, wrote the texts for the chatbot, wrote the terms and conditions and also did the final testing. For more information on Oliwia's tasks during her 3-month internship at LexDellmeier – please see her blog post at: https://www.lexdellmeier.com/de/node/1604Feel free to try out BenBot, recommend him to #startups and please do give us feedback. It is our aim to continue to develop him over the next years to become even more sophisticated, smarter and fun.