Fernand de Visscher

Fernand de Visscher is a lawyer specialized in intellectual property. He notably handles questions relating to patents and to the protection of designs and artistic and literary works. His experience also includes media law, distribution (dealerships, franchises, etc.), computer science, the internet, domain names, including contract law and competition issues in these fields. He assists Belgian and international enterprises in these areas, covering a wide range of structural and contractual operations and disputes requiring resolution via negotiation, mediation or pleadings before Belgian and European courts. He is also registered as UPC representative. He is a member of the Supreme Court team with Simont Braun (Brussels) and assists them in matters relating to intellectual property, market practices and competition law. Fernand de Visscher is admitted to the WIPO List of Neutrals as a WIPO Arbitrator, and to the list of third party deciders accredited by the French Bar Association of Brussels in the context of the binding third party decision procedures. He is a member of CEPANI, the Belgian Arbitration and Mediation Center. His experience in alternative dispute resolution schemes includes domain names disputes (as third party decider), mediation and arbitration procedures. From 2006 until 2022, he was appointed by the ministry of Economy for serving as president of the Industrial Property section of the Council for Intellectual Property (of which main mission is to provide the Minister responsible for intellectual property with advice on any matter relating to intellectual property, in particular in the law-making process). Former lecturer in design law at the Centre for International Studies in Intellectual Property (CEIPI, Strasbourg) and visiting lecturer in IP contract law at UCLouvain (Belgium) from 2007 to 2017. Fernand is the author and co-author of a number of publications in these areas of practice, including Précis du droit d’auteur et des droits voisins (2000) and La saisie-description et sa réforme (2010). He is a member of the editorial board of Revue de Droit Intellectuel l’Ingénieur-Conseil (Belgium) and of Journal des Tribunaux (Belgium). Fernand de Visscher is also a member of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) (member of honour, 2022 ; former president of the Belgian group), the International Literary and Artistic Association (ALAI), and the European Patent Lawyers’ Association (EPLAW), of which he was a co-founder and the first secretary as a board member from 2000 to 2005.