Intellectual Property
EU trade marks and designs, copyright, trade secrets, licensing and infringement proceedings.
For many of our clients the brand, the software or the process is the business. We help protect it with registrations that actually cover what is being sold, agreements that keep ownership where it belongs, and enforcement that is proportionate to the harm.
What this area covers
- EU trade mark and registered Community design filings, oppositions and cancellations
- Benelux and national trade mark portfolios and clearance searches
- Copyright, software and database rights, including developer and agency contracts
- Trade secrets protection and confidentiality regimes
- Licensing, distribution and technology transfer agreements
- Infringement, counterfeiting, customs seizures and online takedowns
Situations clients bring us
You are launching a brand across Europe
We run clearance searches before the name is committed to, file the EU trade mark in the right classes, and advise on domain names and company name conflicts that a trade mark register will not show.
Someone is copying your product or content
We assess the strength of your rights, gather evidence properly, and choose between a cease-and-desist letter, a platform takedown, a customs application or proceedings — in that order of escalation where it is sensible.
You commissioned software or design work
Under Belgian and Dutch law, paying for creative work does not automatically transfer copyright. We put written assignments in place, including for freelancers and agencies engaged years ago.
How we work
- Portfolio management with renewal deadlines tracked and reported to you annually.
- Fixed filing fees, including EUIPO official fees quoted separately and transparently.
- Enforcement advice that weighs commercial cost against the value of the right.
The European dimension
Where cross-border practice makes the difference
The EU trade mark and Community design give unitary protection across all member states, and the Unified Patent Court has changed the landscape for patent enforcement. Copyright and trade secrets remain substantially national, harmonised only in part, so a European strategy needs both layers considered together.
Questions about intellectual property
Talk to a lawyer about intellectual property
An initial consultation of up to forty-five minutes is charged at a fixed fee of €150 excluding VAT, and waived where we go on to act for you on the same matter.