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Doing business in the Netherlands 12services. Such trust services can only be provided bytrust companies, which are licensed by the DutchCentral Bank (DNB). A trust company offers expertguidance to tax beneficial international structuresand opportunities to foreign legal entities and privatepersons for their holding-, finance- or investmentactivities in the Netherlands.2.10 Corporate governanceCorporate Governance is a key topic for the corporatepractice in all industries. As a result of theimplementation of the Dutch Corporate Governancecode (edited by Commisie Tabaksblatt and firstestablished with effect from 1 January 2004 andreplaced by an updated edition by Commissie Frijnswith effect from 1 January 2009) for the first time inthe Netherlands principles of good corporate governanceand best practice provisions were codifiedwhich apply to Dutch companies listed on a stockexchange. Following that example for several businesssectors such as real estate construction, banksand childcare as well as for several not-for-profitsectors such as health care, public housing, educationand the cultural sector, governance codes havebeen composed. In practice, if with respect to yourbusiness sector a governance code applies, the challengeis to comply with any requirements under suchgovernance code while safeguarding your businessinterests.2.11 Compliance ManagementUnder the Dutch Corporate Governance Code allDutch companies listed at the AEX, AMX or AScX areobliged to enforce an internal risk management andcontrol system or alternatively explain the reasonsfor deciding not to. The board of directors of a Dutchentity has in general the obligation to manage thebusiness activities responsibly. In its management itmust ensure that all laws are adhered to, for financialreasons as well as for reputational reasons. Atthis moment, Compliance Management within Dutchentities mainly focus on anti-corruption, anti-trustlaw, money-laundering, data protection, productsafety, employment and occupational safety, as wellas environmental laws.2.12 Intellectual property protectionThe Netherlands are a party to nearly all internationalintellectual property conventions and have,as a member of the European Union, implementedall intellectual property directives and apply theEuropean directives. This means that Dutch intellectualproperty law is largely harmonized and protectsforeign right holders with only rare exception.In this section 2.12 we shall provide a brief overviewof the most important intellectual property legislationavailable in the Netherlands.The Netherlands have a so-called Patents KingdomAct, which applies to the Netherlands territory inEurope (as usual), but also to the formerNetherlands Antilles (Curacao, Aruba and SaintMartin). It offers 20 years protection to new andinventive methods and products. Pursuant toEuropean Regulation a supplementary protectioncertificate is offered for medicinal products. Thepurpose of the certificate is to extent the duration ofpatents to up to the full period of 20 years after registrationof the basic patent to allow pharmaceuticalcompanies to earn back their investments in a substanceor combination of substances presented fortreating or preventing disease in human beings oranimals. The duration of such certificate is decidedon application and does not exceed a 5 years period.Patents can be obtained as a single Dutch patent, oras part of a European patent under the EuropeanPatent Convention. One of the European PatentOffice’s subsidiaries is established in theNetherlands.On national Dutch level new plant varieties are protectedby the Seed and Seedlings Act 2005(Zaaizaad- en Plantgoedwet 2005) for a period of 25years, and for some plant varieties, including potatoes,tulips and strawberries, 30 years upon registrationwith the Council for Plant Varieties. Pursuant toEuropean Regulation 2100/94 on Community plantvariety rights it is also possible to apply for one singleEuropean plant variety right with the CommunityPlant Variety Office.A trade name is the name used by a company, includingbusinesses without legal personality (see section2.1), in the course of trade. Such names are protectedagainst confusingly similar trade names ofthird parties under the Trade Name Act(Handelsnaamwet). Protection is offered automaticallyand registration of trade names is not required.