INTRODUCTION

Belgium has observed high standards for the protection of Intellectual Property (IP) rights since well before the implementation of Directive 2004/48/EC of 29 April 2004 on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (Enforcement Directive). Belgian law already provided for many of the measures, procedures and remedies required by the Enforcement Directive, such as those relating to evidence, precautionary measures and injunctions, counterfeit seizure and corrective measures. As a result, IP protection and enforcement in Belgium has sometimes been recognised as a ‘best practice’ for the Enforcement Directive's adoption. The implementation of the Directive did, however, provide for additional IP protection measures and further refi ned and harmonised enforcement measures, procedures and remedies across the different IP rights.

The harmonisation of the available measures, procedures and remedies was one of the most important changes that followed the implementation of the Enforcement Directive. As a result, the same measures are now generally available to holders of all IP rights. This includes trademarks and designs rights, which are governed at the level of the Benelux on the basis of a Convention with the Netherlands and Luxembourg. This Convention was also amended to implement the necessary provisions for the protection and enforcement of Benelux trademarks and designs. The Belgian legislator later consolidated the harmonised IP laws into a single IP code to provide further protection and transparency to IP rightholders. As a result, rightholders can rely upon several distinct measures and procedures to protect and to enforce their different IP rights in Belgium in accordance with the provisions of the Enforcement Directive.

The different IP rights that are recognised and protected in Belgium are: patents, supplementary protection certificates, plant variety rights, copyright and related rights, database producers’ rights, rights to topographies of semiconductors, trademark rights and design rights. The last two, trademarks and designs, are governed on a Benelux or EU level. Specific protection is also provided to domain names and trade secrets, although they are not considered IP rights.