As a result of the transition of Belgium from a unitary to a federal state, the political and the cultural landscape in Belgium is separated along language barriers. This means that there is a separation between the French-language media on the one hand and the Dutch-language or Flemish media on...

Google recently announced to make its 'Google News' service "opt-in" instead of  "opt-out" in Germany as of 1 August 2013. This decision by Google is a direct reaction to a new German copyright law that will take effect as of the same date. In practice, this means that Google News will only...

On 25 June 2013, Advocate General Jääskinen of the Court of Justice of the European Union released his opinion on the much debated 'right to be forgotten' in the case of Google Spain v AEPD (which is the Spanish Data Protection Agency).   No general 'right to be forgotten' In sum, the Advocate...

Belgium took part in an international campaign to block websites that sell counterfeit products. This was announced on 27 June 2013 by the 'FPS Economy' branch of the Belgian government ('FOD Economie' in Dutch). On a global scale, a total of 328 domain names were blocked under the operation 'In...

How can you protect your trademark from improper use, infringement or degeneration? Here are some practical tips and tricks to help you protect your trademark. Effectively use your trademark in the course of your business. Once your trademark is registered, it is important to effectively use it. A...

A good trademark should meet some specific legal requirements. This article will give you practical advice on selecting a good and legally sound trademark.  Choose a distinctive trademark. In the first place, make sure that your trademark is distinctive enough. Your trademark should be used to...

Belgian courts have quite often been called upon to judge whether a newspaper article or television program breached particular rights of third parties, such as in defamation cases and cases where the privacy of third parties was at stake. As applied to the civil liability of journalists, courts...

In an attempt to limit election expenses, and fearing the impact of radio and television on voters, legislation was adopted at the federal level to ban political party advertising on radio and television and partly on the internet (this ban does not apply to the written press). However, when the...

Commercial advertising is largely regulated by the Belgian Federal Act on Market Practices and Consumer Protection of 6 April 2010.[1] This Act stipulates that the use of editorial content in the media, for which the advertiser has paid, to advertise a product, when this is not made clear to the...

The main rules on freedom of expression and information and on press freedom are enshrined in the Belgian Constitution. These articles (Articles 19, 25 and 150) of the Constitution have remained largely unchanged since their first drafting in 1831. This provides for a high degree of stability, but...