Paul Maeyaert

Belgian

35+ years of experience

Language:

English

Dutch

Present Function:

Lawyer in Belgium at the Brussels bar since 1987.
Lecturer on European Trademark law (30h) at the Université de Liège as part of its LL.M program “competition law and IP”. Since the academic year 2011-2012.

General Expertise:

Professional legal or litigation experience related to the scope of competence of the PMAC

He has over 35 years of experience at the Brussels Bar in both contentious and non-contentious matters in the field of intellectual property and is a senior partner at Fencer, the law firm founded in 2020. The firm’s commitment to excellence has earned its lawyers top-tier rankings in leading legal directories, and it has grown into one of the largest dedicated IP teams in Belgium.

Memberships and/or accreditations

EPLAW (The European Patent Lawyers Association).
AIPPI (International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property).
INTA (and member of the Parrallel Trade Committee).
MARQUES (and member of its ‘Famous and Well Known Marks Team’ and Chair of the sub team “The Rule of Neutralization”).
BMM (Benelux Trademark and Industrial Design Attorneys Association and Chair of its Anti-Fraud Committee).
ALAI (Treasurer of the Belgian section BVA-ABA).
LIDC (Board member of the Belgian section VSMR-AEDC).
Member of the Editorial Board of the Belgian Intellectual Property Law Review IRDI.

Practical experience of conducting mediation or conciliation or judicial settlement conferences or out-of-court dispute settlements in disputes related to the scope of competence of the PMAC

He is one of the few intellectual property lawyers officially recognized as a mediator by the Belgian Ministry of Justice. He served as a member of the Federal Mediation Commission from 2014 to 2022 and is frequently appointed by Belgian commercial courts in the context of pending litigation. In this capacity, he has more than 10 years of experience as a mediator and has achieved a 100% success rate to date. He is also an accredited mediator with WIPO and CEPINA (the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation). In addition, he remains active as counsel in patent litigation and, where appropriate, in facilitating amicable out-of-court settlements.