Benoit van Asbroeck

Practice Areas

Intellectual Property, Privacy & Data Protection

Career

As a partner and IP/IT specialist at Bird & Bird in Brussels, Benoit leads our Belgian Data Protection, Tech & Comms and Media practices, advising our clients on legal issues in privacy, data, e-commerce, digital marketing, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, AI, 3D printing, cookies, electronic signatures, intermediary liability and automated objects. He also co-heads the Bird & Bird international special interest group on Copyright due to his large experience in copyright matters with the Court of Justice of the European Union.

His practice is both transactional and litigation. He has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating complex TMT contracts. In addition, he has exceptional expertise in counselling our clients on issues that require the coordination and integration of a variety of legal solutions, such as intellectual property, information technology, media, sport, competition and telecommunications issues.

Advising on contentious matters in front of arbitral tribunals and national and EU courts, he has successfully conducted landmark matters with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (in Copyright/Trademark and E-commerce). In the context of our Public Affairs practice he lobby's public authorities in relation to the EU and national legislative processes. Alongside the wider team in Brussels, we are participating as legal partners in number of H2020 EU-funded consortia all focusing on data driven economy issues.

Professional Memberships

Benoit is one of the twelve expert members of the Belgian Council of Intellectual Property which advises the Government on new IP legislation.

Publications

Over the years, Benoit has written extensively and spoken at a variety of events on data, IP and ICT subjects. He is lecturing at various EU universities on IP on data and on contracts (Free University of Brussels (ULB), University of Lyon III, University of Valenciennes and Catholic University of Leuven (KUL). He also acts as a substitute commercial judge and mediator/arbitrator at the World Intellectual Property Office.

Benoit has also co-authored the book 'Vers un droit européen de la protection des données?' (Larcier), which focuses on companies' compliance obligations with respect to the GDPR.

Languages Spoken

Benoit speaks French, English, Dutch and German.