What is intellectual property?
Intellectual property regards the rights that protect creative and innovative achievements against unwanted use by third parties. Think of recording a design, registering a trademark or protecting advertisements. Common forms of protection include copyright, trademark rights, advertising rights and portrait rights.
Copyright law
Copyright gives the manufacturer the exclusive right to publish or reproduce their work. Copyrighted work is a broad and multi-faceted notion. It could involve texts, photographs, audiovisual productions or software, but could also include the industrial design of products, fashion designs, architecture or art. In addition, “digital works” such as websites, apps, interfaces and software are also protected under copyright law. Protection is given automatically upon creation, provided that the work is original and the result of creative choices. The copyright holder has the exclusive right to publish and reproduce the work. We advise on the protection, enforcement and furnishing of proof of copyrights, but also litigate on infringements regarding matters including the modification or digital copying of copyrighted works.
Trademark law
Trademark law protects the unique characteristics that differentiate products or services. It offers protection against the use of confusingly similar trademarks, provided that the trademark is listed in a trademark register. That protection applies to names, logos, packaging or other distinguishing elements. Upon registration, trademark registers verify whether a trademark is sufficiently distinguishable and is not misleading or contrary to public policy or public morality. However, they do not verify whether the trademark clashes with older trademarks or trade names. That is the responsibility of the applicant. In order to prevent risks, it is advisable to investigate in advance whether any existing third-party rights apply. We assist clients with trademark registration, conflict investigation, enforcement of trademarks and proceedings before institutions including BOIP, EUIPO and WOIP.
Advertising law
The regulations for advertising are complex and continuously evolving. Both offline and online campaigns have to meet varying legal standards, including rules for comparative advertising, consumer protection or sector-specific limitations. We assess campaigns for legal risks in advance and advise on the permissibility of advertisements. In addition, we represent clients in complaints procedures and disputes regarding allegedly misleading or prohibited advertising.
Image rights
Image rights regularly give rise to complex discussions and legal proceedings in which the interests of the person portrayed and the maker or publisher are weighed against each other. The outcome highly depends on the circumstances of the case. Any recognisable representation of a person, such as a photo, illustration or video, is considered a portrait. This may also include less realistic images. An image therefore quickly constitutes a portrait. Publication without consent is not permitted as a principle.
A distinction is made between portraits made on commission and portraits not made on commission. If a portrait is made on commission, the portrayed person has control over its publication. If a portrait is not made on commission, it may be published only if the person portrayed does not have a reasonable interest in objecting to such. These interests include privacy, reputation and commercial loss. In that case, the court will weigh the interests of the person portrayed against, for example, the right to freedom of speech or a journalistic interest.
