Belgium

A&O Shearman is recommended for IP transactions and disputes in Belgium. Peter Van Dyck leads its IP practice. He is supported by IP/tech transactions lawyer Filip Van Elsen and associates like Tine Carmeliet.

ALTIUS is a full-service law firm with an excellent IP litigation practice, particularly in the life sciences sector. Christophe Ronse, Philippe de Jong, and Kirian Claeyé are the key contacts for patent instructions, while Olivier Vrins specialises in soft IP work, particularly trade marks. De Jong also understands plant variety rights. The partners are supported by a team including Nicolas Clarembeaux, who specialises in soft IP work. 

Arnold & Siedsma is a well-regarded patent and trade mark attorney firm in the Benelux. The firm has a strong team of European patent attorneys, with expertise in fields such as chemistry, biotechnology, electronics, and engineering. The chemistry patent practice grew in July 2020 following the acquisition of Belgian patent firm LC Patents.

The senior leaders in the firm are European patent attorneys Paul Hylarides and Gerwald Verdijck, who are based in the Netherlands. Another notable leader is chemistry specialist Steve Duxbury, who runs the firm’s Munich office.

Electronics patent specialist Nele D'Halleweyn is the prominent practitioner in its Belgian practice. She is now supported by biochemistry patent specialist Bart Laenen. The team is also supported by Dutch and Belgian qualified patent attorneys such as Erik Bartelds, Rogier Brouwer, Petri van Someren, Erik Bartelds, Arjen Hooiveld, Martin Luten and Bart Jacobs. Patent attorneys Raimond Haan and Remy Van den Bosch are practitioners to watch.

The firm’s core trade marks team is based in the Netherlands, where clients will find trade mark partners Karin Becks and Joop Elzas. Sandra Bauwens is a notable trade mark attorney in Belgium.

AWA is a well-regarded IP firm for IP protection and portfolio management work. The firm operates in more than five jurisdictions in Europe and has offices in China and Hong Kong SAR. It entered the Benelux market in 2019 through its acquisition of IP firm Pronovem. IP lawyer Thor Mosaker is the firm’s CEO.

The firm has experienced European patent attorneys in Belgium for different technical fields including chemistry, biotechnology, and mechanical engineering. Joëlle Van Malderen and Dominique Rifon lead the firm’s operations in the Benelux. Both leaders are European trade mark attorneys, but Malderen is also qualified as a European patent attorney. Other notable patent attorneys include Dieter Heck, Eric Van Malderen and Paul-André Gollier. Marianne Stanislaus is a key European trade mark attorney in the firm.

The international law firm Bird & Bird has a strong IP practice in Belgium. The firm is highly respected in IP disputes. The Belgium practice is led by Jean-Christophe Troussel, a lawyer who specialises in IP disputes and transactions. Troussel is supported by patents lawyer Domien Op de Beeck and TMT lawyer Benoit Van Asbroeck, who is noted for his experience in copyright. The partners have a team of junior practitioners. Counsel Guillaume de Villegas is one to watch.

IP firm Brantsandpatents is recommended for IP registration and portfolio management work. Co-founder Johan Brants, a European patent attorney, is the leader in the firm. He is supported by partner Ellen Crabbe. Although the firm is widely recognised for patent work, due to the size of its patent team, it can also handle trade mark work. The notable trade mark practitioner in the firm is Friede Coudron. Jenthe Tack is a patent attorney to watch.

Crowell & Moring is recommended for IP disputes in Belgium. Kristof Roox leads the firm's IP practice and also serves as a co-managing partner of the Brussels office. He is supported by senior practitioners such as Jan-Diederik Lindemans, Sari Depreeuw and Jurgen Figys and a team of associates.

De Clercq & Partners is one of the leading Belgian firms for patent protection and portfolio management work, particularly in the fields of biotechnology and chemistry. The firm has several experienced European patent attorneys such as Ann De Clercq, Sakina Bounaga, and Liesbet Paemen. The firm is also recommended for trade mark work. Joost Muylle is the key contact for trade mark instructions.

IP litigation boutique CAPE IP merged with with Gevers in 2025.

European IP law firm Hoyng Rokh Monegier is often seen in complex national and cross-border IP disputes. The firm's Brussels office is home to experienced IP lawyers who can also provide advice on non-contentious matters including trade mark protection. Fabienne Brison is the senior soft IP practitioner in the practice, while Steven Cattoor, Benoît Strowel and Liesbeth Weynants are the go-to lawyers for patent disputes. Strowel, who splits his time between Paris and Brussels, is the firm’s managing partner. The partners are supported by a team of associates, including Rising Star Tim Robrechts.

Taylor Wessing in Belgium is recommended for IP disputes, particularly patent disputes. Its IP practice is led by Christian Dekoninck and Patricia Cappuyns.

VO is one of the best patent and trade mark attorney firms in the Benelux. The firm specialises in IP protection and portfolio management work, with a strong team of patent attorneys to deal with a range of technical fields, most notably chemistry, biotechnology, and engineering. Most of its IP practitioners are based in the Netherlands.

The firm has a large team of experienced European patent attorneys. Herman Witmans, Leo Jessen, Bernard Ledeboer, Michiel van Rooij and Annemie Jaeken are key figures in the engineering team. Jaeken is based in Belgium. Otto Oudshoorn, Hajo Kraak, Marco Molling, and Huub Maas are experts in chemistry. Mark Einerhand, Frits Schut and Bettina Hermann are experienced attorneys for life sciences patent work, while Jasper Groot Koerkamp, Marco Box and Johannes van Melle are key contacts in the electronics practice. Hermann is based in Germany.

Trade mark instructions are dealt with by trade mark associates such as Noëlle Wolfs and Raquel Alvarez, both of whom are based in the Netherlands. For commercial IP matters, the team can always count on the legal and transactional experience of Nick Oostenbroek. Patent attorneys Henri van Kalkeren, Martin Klok, Jetze Beeksma, Peter de Lange, and Rutger Timmer are practitioners to watch.

UK boutique firm Wiggin is recommended for contentious and non-contentious soft IP matters, particularly copyright and trade mark. The firm's office in Belgium is led by copyright specialist Ted Shapiro, who was previously the Europe general counsel for the Motion Picture Association. The office was strengthened in January 2021 with the arrival of two very experienced IP lawyers, Carina Gommers and Carl De Meyer.

IP firm Winger was founded in May 2023 by Rogier Goos, Davy Wauters, Kris Hertoghe and Christoph Bourgeois. Prior to the launch, trade mark attorneys Goos and Bourgeois were with Brantsandpatents, which was co-founded by Bourgeois, while patent attorneys Davy Wauters and Kris Hertoghe had their own firm known as DenK iP. This new IP firm boasts more than 20 IP practitioners.