Intellectual Property (IP)

Trademarks protect the goodwill a company has built up in its brands and ensure consumers of consistent quality standards. The business value of strong brands cannot be underestimated.

Lydian’s IP team provides you with all the services in relation to the protection of your trademarks (clearance, prosecution, enforcement and exploitation) but also of your tradename, company name or domain name.

The team can assist you in drafting all the agreements you may need (e.g. license, co-existence, transfer agreements), along with providing you with strategic guidance and representation in litigation. In this respect, Lydian’s IP team acts before the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property or the European Union Intellectual Property Office (in case of refusal, opposition, cancellation  proceedings) or before the Belgian court or arbitrators in order to obtain quick cessation of the infringement or damages.

Lydian’s IP team recognizes the value of creativity in the various forms of artistic expression. International trade in art, motion pictures, music, publishing, software and databases has grown over the last years. Clients are looking for litigating skills and technical knowledge to assist them in increasing their level of copyright protection worldwide and fighting against any infringements.

Lydian’s IP team is the ideal partner in this respect. The team identifies existing copyright material and ways to generate added value for its clients’ businesses. It can also assist its clients in negotiating and drafting legally-sound agreements for the creation, use and exploitation of copyright material but also in case of litigation thereon.

The models and designs of devices and their packaging often determine a customer's choice. The imitation of creative products has increased significantly in recent years and has become a growing concern for designers.

Many designers see design protection as an insurance against anything that may affect or jeopardize their creations. Registration statistics show that design rights have become relevant for more and more industries: traditional design industries such as fashion and furniture have been joined by manufacturers of electronic devices, automobiles and hardware. This is partly due to the success of the European design which offers a protection within the entire EU for an attractive prize.

Clients regularly call upon Lydian’s IP team to litigate, mediate and arbitrate disputes involving (un)registered designs or spare parts for instance. On the other hand, the team assists its clients in drafting and negotiating agreements for the creation, distribution and licensing of designs.

Lydian’s IP team understands that trade secrets and know-how represent an essential commodity for many businesses, the protection of which needs careful and balanced planning. The team is adept at helping clients develop programs for protecting their trade secrets and know-how as part of their intellectual property portfolio strategy. In collaboration with other departments, Lydian’s IP professionals assist clients in drafting non-disclosure agreements as well as joint venture, consulting and employee agreements. The team’s advisory work focuses on detecting and preventing the theft of trade secrets, but it can also be very helpful in case of litigation.

More and more industries use patents as a protective shield in their ongoing drive to obtain or maintain a technological advance on their competitors.

R&D activities and innovation have an increasing global impact and companies try to value their immaterial assets on a larger scale. The trade in patents has grown steadily over the last few years.

Lydian’s IP team regularly assists its clients with respect to the transfer, licensing and enforcement of their patent rights.

This includes both advisory work on the protection and exploitation of patent rights and domestic and multi-jurisdictional patent litigation relating to eligibility for patent protection and patent infringement.

The proprietary information that makes our clients’ goods or services unique, the employees that drive their success, and the customer relationships that every business works so hard to win and maintain, are key assets.

Intellectual property rights cannot always protect these assets when they do not comply with legal requirements. 

It is therefore paramount to protect and secure relationships with employees, service providers and customers against any unfair competition or market practices. Lydian’s IP team’s experience allows them to advise on effective contractual arrangements and internal policies to secure your business investment. The team is equally ready to intervene efficiently when your business is threatened, or is at risk, through injunction proceedings.

The strength of Lydian’s IP team makes Lydian the leading Belgian law firm active in the fight against counterfeiting. We act for more than 90 trademark and design owners, primarily from the fashion and luxury goods sectors but also pharmaceutical and automotive companies, in their everyday fights against counterfeiting, through border measures, civil or criminal actions.

The team handles counterfeiting files in a highly efficient manner including Pan-European actions, thanks to her excellent relationship with the Belgian and European authorities, our longstanding experience and our network of correspondent law firms specialised in that area.

Litigation is usually a moment of crisis for a client, whether acting as a plaintiff or as a defendant.

Lydian’s IP team understands this:  from the outset, we focus on determining together with the client the most suitable litigation strategy, taking into account legal analysis and commercial and business priorities.

Our team has experience in assisting clients before all judicial courts and arbitral tribunals in Belgium, including in summary, injunction proceedings, attachment proceedings and proceedings on the merits, before the First Instance Courts and the Courts of Appeal and before the administrative jurisdictions such as the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property and European Union Intellectual Property Office.

Lydian’s IP team comprises experienced Dutch and French speaking litigators who can handle cases before the Belgian courts in their native language. Our lawyers also master the English language perfectly and can therefore also plead in such a language, notably in arbitration cases.

Clients appreciate our approach pragmatic and offensive whenever it is needed or demanded.

Intellectual property rights are valuable immaterial assets, which, like any asset, you can keep and use yourself, lease (grant in license), sell (transfer of ownership) or use as a security.

For instance, a right to use (license) may take different forms, such as producing, selling, importing, exporting, reproducing and communicating to the public. IP owners can maximise their IP revenues by spreading, dividing and allocating their rights through licenses.

As mentioned, Lydian’s IP team has experience in drafting and reviewing IP (license, transfer, pledge) agreements for our clients.

The rise of the internet as a limitless forum of commerce and ideas has changed the way companies around the world do business. Domain names enable consumers and potential customers to contact businesses over the internet. Others see an opportunity to benefit improperly from other businesses’ fame and reputation.

Lydian’s IP team assists clients with the selection, protection, and enforcement of domain names, balancing the client’s preferred remedies with any interest in quickly resolving any dispute.

The team drafts take-down notices and complaints regarding improper use of search engine keywords and conducts cease-and-desist procedures against online infringers and cyber squatters. Lydian’s IP team has experience in handling national court proceedings and Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings.

Media, content providers and investors today face complex legal challenges. Globalisation and convergence of media and telecoms have radically changed the media landscape. New cross-media challenges have replaced traditional revenue models. Content owners can value their content on a larger, often international scale.

Our clients include content owners, publishers, TV and radio broadcasters and telecommunications companies, as well as internet companies.

We provide pre-publication advice and clearance, draft publishing and licensing agreements and advise on content licensing and rights disputes, accounting disputes and strategic portfolio development.

Lydian’s advisory services cover legal assistance and transactional support in the exploitation of rights, distribution of content, technology licensing and production financing, right of reply, product placement and liability issues.

Lydian’s IP team’s practice encompasses the full range of areas linked to the launching and marketing of products and services, including advertising, promotion as well as lotteries and gambling.

The team assists in advertising and disputes (including for instance dispute over comparative and misleading advertising) as well as in advertising and promotions advising and transactions (review of promotional material).