Locations
WTR 1000 is a standalone research directory that focuses exclusively on trademark practices and practitioners. The rankings are presented by World Trademark Review – the independent daily news and information service dedicated exclusively to reporting on strategic and legal trademark issues for in-house and private practitioners internationally.
WTR 1000 also highlighted several of Fieldfisher's IP experts across our Brussels office, namely Stijn Debaene, Head of practice, and Hakim Haouideg, Partner, both ranked in the Silver band, and Of Counsel Serge Flecijn ranked in the Bronze band.
In reference to our practice in Belgium, which gets a Silver band ranking, the WTR 1000 guide wrote:
Fieldfisher’s Brussels outpost plays host to a well-rounded IP group with particular strengths in contentious and transactional settings. With regard to the latter, the group has carved out a niche in the sports industry where – under the stewardship of Stijn Debaene – it regularly represents professional football players and gets lucrative deals inked with the Premier League. Debaene’s razor-sharp focus and ability to solve complex challenges in novel ways have seen him emerge victorious in landmark cases. For example, he and partner Hakim Haouideg represented Telenet in a matter that set a crucial precedent regarding the scope of injunctions in trademark infringement proceedings and the number of days for which penalties will be due when an adverse party abuses its rights. The pair have also gone out to bat for La Fille d’O and its designer Murielle Scherre in a dispute with Zara. Technology is a further forte with Haouideg on board: the polished litigator is also a shrewd negotiator who pushed 15 research agreements across the line for software company Ansys in the past year alone. Rounding off the practice, Serge Flecijn is a true IP all-star with extensive unfair competition and food regulatory knowledge. He is an ideal choice for both start-ups and multinationals seeking to protect their rights.