ICT & IP
Information and Communication Technology & Intellectual Property
Our team and expertise
All members of our team are or have been involved in legal research at the forefront of Information technology law and intellectual property. They all are or have been university lecturers in IT law, researchers in the best ICT law research centers in Belgium or university assistants in IP. Our clients therefore benefit from a cutting-edge expertise combined with years of experience in private practice.
Information and Communication Technology – Contracts and Law
Information technology is nowadays more pervasive than ever and is now part of every area of life and every sector of the economy. Those who understand IT and e-business know the way business is conducted has evolved and will never be the same as before the internet era.
In our department, we assist clients in the negotiation of IT agreements, for both IT solution providers (such as software vendors, equipment manufacturers, service providers and integrators) as well as for IT users (such as banks, large industries, public administrations, insurance companies); we therefore know both sides of the game.
We also regularly advise clients involved in e-commerce projects (legal feasibility study, legal compliance, e-signatures, e-invoicing, e-payments, data protection and privacy, etc.). We also deal with regulatory and communications issues.
We are used to work alongside other advisers of the client (IT experts, outsourcing consultants). We take pleasure and pride in helping our clients throughout the full life cycle of their technology project, from tendering to implementation (and if necessary in arbitration or litigation proceedings).
Intellectual Property – Management and Protection
Traditionally, Intellectual Property (IP) has been viewed narrowly from a largely legalistic approach and with a focus on protection. In today's world, such thinking is progressively changing, from reactive protection to proactive exploitation, as business leaders are increasingly recognizing the great opportunities IP offers for value creation.
We can both help our clients in ensuring a better protection of their IP assets and advise on all relevant legal and contractual issues, if the client wishes to leverage and optimize the full value of its portfolio. If it is useful for our client, we are happy to work alongside other advisers of the client (trademark agents, tax advisers, patent attorneys...).
We regularly assist not only IP owners (in many different sectors of the industry, from pharma to publishing) in defending and exploiting their rights but also IP users or intermediaries who need to know what they may or may not do with IP rights of third parties and how to acquire licence rights from the rights' owners.
Our assistance covers the various steps in the life cycle of an IP right and the various aspects of IP exploitation, ranging from creation to protection, from commercialisation to enforcement, and from strategy to management.
