Luxembourg's intellectual property registers record formal ownership of patents, trademarks, and designs filed at the national level. The register names the rights holder of record. It does not name the person who controls that holder, nor does it show the economic beneficiary of the IP asset. For a buyer verifying an object across jurisdictions, the register is the starting point — not the conclusion.
Control over IP in Luxembourg frequently sits one or more levels above the registered holder. A Luxembourg-incorporated holding company may appear as the registered owner of a patent portfolio. The shareholder of that holding company, and the person who can instruct its directors, are not visible in the IP register. That layer requires a separate corporate registry inquiry.
What the register showsThe registered holder of a patent, trademark, or design; the filing date; the registration number; and the current status of the right. Source: Office de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OPI), Luxembourg · verified 2026-09-20 What the register does not showThe beneficial owner of the IP asset, the shareholder of the registered holder, or any pledge or security interest over the right. Source: OPI · verified 2026-09-20 Condition of accessThe OPI register is publicly searchable. No registration or declaration of legitimate interest is required for a name or number search. Source: OPI · verified 2026-09-20 European layerPatents granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) and EU trademarks registered at the EUIPO are enforceable in Luxembourg without separate national filing. Those rights appear in the EPO and EUIPO registers, not in the OPI register. Source: EPO, EUIPO · verified 2026-09-20What the Luxembourg IP register records
The Office de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OPI) administers national IP rights in Luxembourg. The register covers three categories: patents and utility models, trademarks, and registered designs.
For each right, the register discloses the registration number, the filing and registration dates, the title or description of the right, the name and address of the registered holder, and the current status — active, lapsed, or expired. Where a transfer of ownership has been recorded, the register shows the new holder from the date of recordal.
Luxembourg is a small jurisdiction by filing volume. The majority of IP assets with economic significance and a Luxembourg connection are held through EU-level instruments: EU trademarks at the EUIPO and European patents validated in Luxembourg through the EPO. Those instruments are not reflected in the OPI register. A search of the OPI register alone will not surface EU trademarks or European patents held by a Luxembourg entity.
For a complete picture of IP assets attributable to a Luxembourg entity, three registers must be consulted in parallel: OPI for national rights, EUIPO for EU trademarks, and EPO for European patents.
Source: Office de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OPI) · verified 2026-09-20
Control: what the register shows and what it does not
The registered holder named in the OPI register is the legal owner of the right. Legal ownership and control are not the same thing in a holding structure.
Luxembourg is a preferred jurisdiction for IP holding companies. A common structure places IP assets in a Luxembourg société anonyme (SA) or société à responsabilité limitée (Sàrl), which then licenses the rights to operating entities in other jurisdictions. The SA or Sàrl appears in the IP register as the holder. The person who controls the SA or Sàrl — through shareholding, through a shareholder agreement, or through a fiduciary arrangement — does not appear in the IP register.
Establishing control requires a separate inquiry into the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register (Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés, RCS). The RCS shows the directors and, for Sàrls, the shareholders. For SAs, the shareholder register is not public. A further inquiry into the Luxembourg beneficial ownership register (Registre des bénéficiaires effectifs, RBE) is required to reach the natural person who ultimately controls the entity.
The RBE was established under the 4th and 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directives. Following the Court of Justice of the European Union judgment in Joined Cases C-37/20 and C-601/20 (November 2022), public access to the RBE was suspended. Access is now restricted to competent authorities and persons who can demonstrate a legitimate interest. The practical consequence: the beneficial owner of a Luxembourg IP holding company is not accessible through a standard public register search.
Source: Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS) · verified 2026-09-20 Source: Registre des bénéficiaires effectifs (RBE) · verified 2026-09-20
Pledges, licences, and encumbrances
The OPI register records assignments — transfers of ownership — when they are filed by the parties. It does not automatically record licences or pledges over IP rights.
A licence granted over a Luxembourg patent or trademark is not required to be registered to be valid between the parties. Registration of a licence is optional and confers priority against third parties only from the date of recordal. An unregistered exclusive licence may therefore exist and be enforceable without appearing in the register.
A pledge over an IP right — used as collateral in a financing transaction — is governed by the Luxembourg law of 5 August 2005 on financial collateral arrangements and related legislation. Pledges over IP rights may be registered, but registration is not a condition of validity. The register does not provide a complete picture of encumbrances.
For a buyer or lender assessing the freedom to deal with a Luxembourg IP asset, the register search establishes the baseline. It does not establish the absence of competing interests.
Source: Office de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OPI) · verified 2026-09-20
The three-register structure for Luxembourg IP
| Register | Administered by | What it covers | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| OPI national register | Office de la Propriété Intellectuelle | National patents, trademarks, designs | Yes — name and number search |
| EUIPO register | European Union Intellectual Property Office | EU trademarks, registered Community designs | Yes — open search |
| EPO register | European Patent Office | European patents (including LU validation) | Yes — open search |
| RCS | Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés | Directors, shareholders (Sàrl), filed documents | Yes — per-document access |
| RBE | Registre des bénéficiaires effectifs | Beneficial owners of Luxembourg entities | Restricted since November 2022 |
A Luxembourg entity may hold rights across all three IP registers simultaneously. A search limited to OPI will miss EU trademarks and European patents. A search limited to IP registers will not establish who controls the holder.
Source: OPI, EUIPO, EPO, RCS, RBE · verified 2026-09-20
What is included at each tier
The scope of a report and the applicable fee are communicated in response to a submitted request.
The limit of what the sources allow
The OPI register shows the registered holder. It does not show the beneficial owner, the shareholder of the holder, or any unregistered licence or pledge.
The RCS shows directors and, for Sàrls, shareholders. It does not show the beneficial owner of an SA, and it does not show the person behind a fiduciary or nominee arrangement.
The RBE, which was designed to close that gap, is no longer publicly accessible following the CJEU judgment of November 2022. Access requires a demonstrated legitimate interest assessed by the Luxembourg Business Registers authority. The process is not available to a standard commercial inquiry without a formal legal basis.
The EUIPO and EPO registers are open and searchable. They show the registered holder of EU-level rights. They do not show the controller of that holder.
The ceiling of what the sources allow is stated before payment. A report based on these registers will name the registered holder of each right, the status of each right, and the point at which the chain of control becomes inaccessible. It will not name a beneficial owner who is not disclosed in an accessible register. That limit is not a deficiency of the report — it is a finding.
Where the registered holder is a Luxembourg entity, the report will include the RCS extract showing directors and, where available, shareholders. Where the RBE is inaccessible, the report will state that fact and identify the last accessible link in the chain.
Where the sources disagree
The OPI register and the EUIPO register may show different holders for the same underlying IP asset if an assignment was recorded in one register but not the other. This occurs when a transfer of an EU trademark is recorded at EUIPO but the corresponding national right — if one exists — is not updated at OPI, or vice versa.
A discrepancy between the RCS and the OPI register may arise when a corporate restructuring transfers the IP-holding entity to a new parent without triggering a change in the IP register. The IP register continues to show the original holder; the RCS shows the new ownership of that holder. The two registers must be read together to detect this.
Where discrepancies of this kind are identified, the report records both positions and identifies the date of each entry. The discrepancy itself is a finding.
FAQ
What does the Luxembourg IP register show about who controls an IP asset? The register shows the name of the registered holder. It does not show the shareholder of the holder, the beneficial owner, or the person who can instruct the holder's directors. Control requires a separate corporate registry inquiry, and in Luxembourg the beneficial ownership layer is not publicly accessible following the CJEU judgment of November 2022.
Are EU trademarks and European patents visible in the Luxembourg national register? No. EU trademarks are registered at the EUIPO and European patents at the EPO. Neither appears in the OPI national register. A Luxembourg entity may hold all three categories of right simultaneously. A complete IP register search for a Luxembourg entity requires parallel searches across OPI, EUIPO, and EPO.
Does the register show licences and pledges over IP rights? Not reliably. Licences and pledges may be registered, but registration is not a condition of validity in Luxembourg. An unregistered exclusive licence or a pledge used as collateral may exist and be enforceable without appearing in the register. The register search establishes the baseline; it does not establish the absence of competing interests.
What happens when the registered holder is a Luxembourg holding company? The IP register shows the holding company as the rights holder. Establishing who controls that company requires an RCS extract (for directors and, in the case of a Sàrl, shareholders) and an RBE inquiry (for the beneficial owner). The RBE is not publicly accessible since November 2022. The report will identify the last accessible link in the chain and state where the chain breaks.
How long does it take to obtain a Luxembourg IP register extract? The OPI register is searchable online without registration. An extract or certified copy is obtained through the OPI. The EUIPO and EPO registers are also searchable online. Turnaround for a compiled report covering all three registers and the RCS layer is communicated at the time of the request.
Sources:
- Office de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OPI) — https://www.opi.lu — verified 2026-09-20
- Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS) / Luxembourg Business Registers — https://www.lbr.lu — verified 2026-09-20
- Registre des bénéficiaires effectifs (RBE) — https://www.lbr.lu/rbe — verified 2026-09-20
- European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) — https://euipo.europa.eu — verified 2026-09-20
- European Patent Office (EPO) — https://www.epo.org — verified 2026-09-20
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Disclaimer: This report is a factual compilation from official registers and public sources. It is provided for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and contains no legal qualification of the facts established. VLO Law Firm assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@vlolawfirm.com.
Author: Elena Moretti — Partner, Continental Europe, VLO Law Firm
