IP, IT, artificial intelligence & data protection
Our Services.
Advice on all questions of intellectual property, trade secrets and market practices (advertising, unfair competition, passing off, etc.);
Representation in all disputes relating to intellectual property, trade secrets or market practices (before Belgian courts, IPObel (Belgian Intellectual Property Office), BOIP (Benelux Office for Intellectual Property), EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) the Benelux Court of Justice, the General Court of the European Union and the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) or the UPC (Unified Patent Court);
Action before the Belgian Intellectual Property Office (patent reinstatement);
Actions against unfair competition and trade secret infringement by former employees;
Advice and contracts relating to artificial intelligence;
Advice on media law and representation in media litigation ( abuse of freedom of speech, defamation, civil liability of journalists, etc.);
Drafting of intellectual property contracts (assignments, licenses, R&D contracts, NDAs, technological collaborations, pledges on intellectual property assets, etc.);
Preparation, drafting and management of Belgian and European consortium contracts, and representation before Belgian courts in disputes relating to these contracts;
GDPR compliance and representation before the DPA;
Valuation of IP assets in M&A transactions;
National and international arbitration in the field of intellectual property.
Janson has extensive experience in negotiating and drafting IP-related agreements, including license agreements, research and development agreements (R&D), consortium agreements (with specific expertise in EU funded projects), merchandising and sponsoring agreements, non-disclosure agreements (NDA), IT related agreements, technology transfer and liens on intellectual property assets. We are also regularly consulted to carry out audits and due diligence within the framework of mergers and acquisitions.
Our lawyers possess extensive experience in data protection and assist clients in their GDPR compliance processes.
Clients also call on Janson to enforce their IP portfolios and to defend them against infringement claims. Janson’s lawyers are regularly appointed as arbitrators in IP related proceedings before arbitral tribunals.
Our experience – some examples.
Representation of a public entity before the Belgian courts, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Constitutional Court and the Council of State in relation with a neighboring rights dispute.
Intervention as an expert in Belgian patent law before the High Court of Justice (UK).
Assisting a major Belgian publisher in a dispute concerning alleged copyright infringement.
Management and preparation of Horizon 2020 and Horizons Europe technology consortia.
Representation of a consortium of European companies and universities in a dispute concerning a Horizon 2020 consortium agreement.
Advice and assistance to a money transfer HUB and a licensed payment institution in Belgium in its negotiations and contracts with various IT suppliers.
Advice and assistance to a well-known multinational non-food retailer, specializing in the distribution of consumer goods and services, in the negotiation and drafting of a complex IT agreement (and multiple ancillary agreements) with a leading global supplier of IT services, software and hardware for the financial and retail sectors.
Representation of a French furniture and design company in several copyright infringement disputes.
Representation of a renowned electronics company in a cross-border patent infringement dispute.
Representation of an American company and its Belgian subsidiary in a patent dispute in Belgium and France.
Representing a Dutch company specializing in the manufacture and supply of wear parts before the UPC in a patent conflict with a direct competitor.
Representation of an American biotech company in patent litigation against the Belgian State.
Representation of a Japanese pharmaceutical company in a patent dispute (supplementary protection certificate) against a French company and a research institute.
Assistance and representation of a major global fashion group in a multi-jurisdictional copyright and trademark dispute with an Italian, French, American and Belgian company.
Assistance and representation of an official sports federation in a trademark conflict against a leading editor of magazines.
Representation of a medical device manufacturer in a cross-border dispute concerning trade secret violations.
Representing one of the leading companies in the sector of wood protection in a conflict with its former employee (and the company that he joined after leaving our client) regarding trade secrets.
Representation of a multinational food company in various proceedings concerning the marketing of similar products by retailers.
Representation of journalists from an anti-disinformation association in a press law dispute against an international media company.
Academic & scientific work.
Mireille Buydens is Professor of Patent Law at the University of Liège and Professor of Information and Communication Law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Mireille Buydens is President of the Belgian Intellectual Property Council (Ministry of Economy, Industrial Property Section).
Charles Bernard is a lecturer in patent litigation at Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI, Université of Strasbourg, France).
The team has published numerous books and articles over the past few years, including the following :
H. Dhondt, “Got a Secret? But how can you keep it?”, ECTA Bulletin, June 2024 (issue XXIX), p. 13.
C. Bernard, « Prescription et forclusion des actions fondées sur le droit Benelux des marques : droit belge », BMM Bulletin, 2023/2, p.76.
M. Buydens, « Comment justifier la propriété intellectuelle au XXIème siècle », in Les propriétés intellectuelles en mouvement, Irpi Editions, Paris, 2023, pp.201-238.
C. Bernard, « Jetons non fongibles et droit d’auteur : poule aux œufs d’or ou miroir aux alouettes ? », Ing.-Cons., 2022/4, p.811.
M. Buydens, «Droit des brevets d'invention», Larcier, Brussels, 2d ed., 2020.
J. Cassiman en H. Dhondt, “Grenzen aan de uitputting - Kan een merkhouder zich steeds verzetten tegen de wederverkoop van "refurbished" producten op grond van een wijziging in de toestand van de waar?” DAOR 2019, afl. 130, p. 95.
M. Buydens « L’intelligence artificielle et le droit : vertiges en terre inconnue », Revue internationale des services financiers, 2019/3-4, p. 47.
C. Bernard, « L’exigence de « destination » concernant l’offre d’utilisation de procédé : une différence de traitement justifiée ? », Ing.-Cons., 2017/3, p.446.
M. Buydens « L’originalité des œuvres des arts appliqués en Europe : vers une harmonisation ? », Revue Propriétés Intellectuelles, avril 2017, n° 63, p. 9.