Intellectual property law and data protection law (GDPR) are areas of law of growing importance for businesses and individuals alike. Anyone who develops a creative work, wishes to protect a trade mark or invention, or processes personal data will encounter specific rights and obligations. A specialist lawyer provides legal support in protecting rights, ensuring compliance with statutory obligations and addressing infringements.
Intellectual property law is an umbrella term for rights in developed ideas and creative concepts. These includes, in particular, copyright, trademark law, patent law, and the law of designs and models.
Data protection law, and in particular the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), lays down rules for the collection, storage and processing of personal data. A privacy notice and a cookie notice are examples of the instruments required under this framework.
A lawyer specialising in intellectual property and data protection law is relevant to anyone wishing to protect rights, ensure correct compliance with obligations or address an infringement. This applies to both businesses and individuals, whether proactively or in connection with a specific dispute.
Anyone with legal questions about intellectual property law or data protection law is welcome to contact FAIRWAY. We listen, analyse and defend your interests with expertise and many years of experience.
You protect your brand name or logo by registering it with the BOIP (Benelux), the EUIPO (EU) or WIPO (international), since mere factual use does not provide sufficient protection in Belgium. Carry out an availability search beforehand and make sure the mark is sufficiently distinctive. Once registered, you enjoy an exclusive right for ten years, renewable each time. It is also advisable to register the logo separately as a figurative mark.
First gather evidence of the infringing use and send the infringer a formal notice demanding that it be stopped. If there is no response, you can bring a cease-and-desist action before the court, which can quickly lead to a prohibition backed by a penalty payment. In serious or urgent cases, a counterfeiting seizure or, in the case of imported counterfeit goods, intervention by customs is also possible. A separate claim for damages usually requires proceedings on the merits.
A Benelux trademark protects you in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg; an EU trademark protects you in all EU member states through a single application. An international trademark, filed via WIPO under the Madrid Protocol, allows you to seek protection in various countries worldwide through a single procedure, based on your Benelux or EU registration. For a local SME, a Benelux trademark is usually sufficient; for international ambitions, an EU or international trademark is advisable.
Copyright in principle belongs to the creator themselves, the employee or freelancer, and not automatically to the employer or client. Only for software works do the rights transfer to the employer by operation of law. For all other creative work, such as texts, designs or images, an explicit written transfer is essential, for example in the employment contract or freelance agreement.
First gather evidence of your authorship, such as original files with a date. Then send a formal notice demanding that the use be stopped and, if applicable, claiming damages. For online content, a 'notice and take down' request to the platform can also offer a quick solution. If the infringement continues, a cease-and-desist action can bring it to a swift end.
Yes, even if the image is available online for free, you in principle need permission from the copyright holder. Exceptions are images made available under an explicit open licence or images in the public domain. If people are recognisable in the image, image rights and the GDPR also come into play. It is therefore best to use your own images or a paid licence.
You file a patent application with the Belgian Office for Intellectual Property, the European Patent Office or WIPO, depending on the protection you want. Your invention must be new, involve an inventive step and be industrially applicable, and must therefore not be disclosed publicly before filing. The procedure is technical and can take years; a patent attorney or a lawyer specialised in intellectual property is best placed to guide you through the entire process.
A patent protects the technical function of an invention; design protection only protects the external, aesthetic appearance of a product. A design must be new and have individual character, but, unlike with a patent, does not need to be inventive. Both forms of protection can in fact apply simultaneously to the same product.
You can send the infringer a formal notice, bring a cease-and-desist action for a swift stop, or have a counterfeiting seizure carried out to secure evidence. In the case of imported counterfeit goods, customs can also be involved. A claim for damages usually requires separate proceedings on the merits.
A cease-and-desist action is a swift court procedure, similar to summary proceedings, to have an infringing act stopped, often backed by a penalty payment for continued use. It is particularly useful for infringements of trademarks, designs, patents or copyright, and for unfair market practices. A separate procedure is required to obtain damages.
Trade secrets are protected as soon as the information is secret, has commercial value, and you take reasonable protective measures. Think of confidentiality clauses (NDAs) with employees and partners, restricted access and internal confidentiality procedures. In case of a breach, you can claim an injunction and damages, provided you can demonstrate which measures you took in advance.
Only public authorities and companies whose core activity involves large-scale, systematic monitoring or large-scale processing of sensitive data are legally required to appoint a DPO. Most SMEs do not fall under this obligation, although appointing an internal or external data protection officer remains strongly advisable.
Every SME must have a legal basis for each processing activity, keep a record of processing activities, draw up a privacy notice, take appropriate security measures and conclude data processing agreements with suppliers. A procedure for data breaches is also mandatory. These obligations apply regardless of the size of your company.
A correct privacy notice states who the data controller is, what data you process, for what purpose and on what legal basis, how long you retain it, and what rights data subjects have. Keep the text clear and avoid generic standard texts that do not match your actual processing activities.
First assess the risk to the data subjects. If there is a risk, you must report the data breach to the Data Protection Authority within 72 hours, and in the event of a high risk also inform the data subjects themselves. Document every data breach, even if you do not report it, and take measures to prevent recurrence.
Yes, but only for a legitimate and proportionate purpose, such as security, and with prior information to employees via pictograms and the work rules. Additional rules apply to permanent surveillance of employees (collective labour agreement no. 68), including consultation with the works council. You may also not retain camera footage longer than necessary.
Not without restriction: the monitoring of electronic communication data is regulated by collective labour agreement no. 81 and requires a legitimate purpose, proportionality and prior transparency towards the employee. An individual check also requires a phased approach. Purely private messages enjoy enhanced protection and you may in principle not inspect them.
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