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Les marques Benelux se mettent au diapason des évolutions européennes 17/09/2019
Depuis le 1er mars 2019, les modifications apportées par la Directive (UE) 2015/2436 aux marques Benelux trouvent à s’appliquer sur le territoire belge Retour sur les nouveautés introduites par cette directive. Vers un droit des marques harmonisé au sein de l’UE La directive impose aux États membres une harmonisation tant au niveau des conditions d’enregistrement et des droits conférés par les marques que des règles de procédure applicables. Le texte précise notamment les conditions que doit remplir un signe distinctif pour pouvoir prétendre à un enregistrement : distinguer les produits ou les services d’une entreprise de ceux d’autres entreprises et ... -
Responsabilité décennale : menace de la stabilité du bâtiment 16/09/2019
Enjeux et contours de cette responsabilité La responsabilité décennale – parfois appelée improprement garantie décennale – constitue souvent l’un des enjeux majeurs des litiges en matière de construction. S’agissant de questions qui touchent la sécurité publique, le législateur a en effet prévu un régime juridique strict et renforcé, auquel les parties ne peuvent déroger, pour les vices graves susceptibles de mettre en péril la solidité ou la stabilité du bâtiment ou de l’une de ses parties maîtresses. Le maître de l’ouvrage peut ainsi rechercher la responsabilité des constructeurs pendant une durée de 10 ans à dater de la réception-agréation s’il ... -
NIS Law: the new incident notification procedure 31/07/2019
Incident notification obligation according to the NIS Directive The law of 7 April 2019 (the ‘NIS law’) states that the Operators of Essential Services (OES) and the Digital Service Providers (DSP) shall, amongst other things, notify any incident that have a significant impact on their networks and information systems or on the provision of their services. This law transposes into Belgian law the Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of 6 July 2016 concerning measures for a high common level of security of network and information systems across the Union (the ‘NIS Directive’). For more information about this law, see our previous news ... -
Gmail : not a telecom operator under EU law 09/07/2019
According to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Article 2(c) of Directive 2002/21/EC on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive) “must be interpreted as meaning that a web-based email service which does not itself provide internet access, such as the Gmail service provided by Google LLC, does not consist wholly or mainly in the conveyance of signals on electronic communications networks and therefore does not constitute an ‘electronic communications service’ within the meaning of that provision”. A current grey area European regulatory Framework imposes a number of obligations on the providers of electronic communications services ... -
Skype: a telecom operator according to the ECJ 24/06/2019
Is Skype a telecom operator ? A hard question for the ECJ The article 9(1) of the Law of 13 June 2005 on electronic communications (‘LEC’), transposing into Belgian law the Directive 2002/21/EC of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (‘Framework Directive’), provides for a notification obligation for the electronic communications services providers before starting their activity. Facts In May 2016, the Belgian Institute of Postal Services and Telecommunications (‘the IBPT’ in french) imposed a fine of €223.454 on Skype for refusing to notify itself as a telecom operator for the SkypeOut ... -
GDPR : Should non-EU companies designate a DPO/a representative/both? 18/06/2019
Even if your company is not established in the EU, you probably have heard about the famous “GDPR“. This European regulation entered into force in May 2018. It contains the rules regarding the processing of personal data. Like every company, you process personal data everyday (from clients, employees, ….). And, as a company willing to be compliant, you are asking questions: does this EU regulation apply to me? If so, do I have to appoint a specific agent in the EU to comply? Don’t panic! Here is a little summary of what the GDPR provides for the data controller or ...