Advocaat Bart Van BesienBart Van Besien is an attorney at law in Belgium and founded, in 2017, the law office of Finnian & Columba. Previously, Bart has worked as an attorney, as a corporate lawyer for an American IT company in Ireland, and as a university researcher (Université Libre de Bruxelles and UC Berkeley).

Bart obtained his law degree (LLM) at KU Leuven and the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), ​​and specialised in European Union law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (IEE). He also graduated with a master of arts degree in history at KU Leuven and obtained a certificate in Art Law at Christie’s Education.

Bart can help you in the following branches of the law:

  • Intellectual property: copyright, neighbouring rights, trademarks, image rights, design rights, software protection, protection of know-how and trade secrets, IP portfolio management, licensing agreements, and “droit de suite”.
  • Internet & media law: domain names, e-commerce, advertising law, freedom of expression, right of reply, right to be forgotten (removal requests), libel and defamation (reputation management), legal opinions and contract negotiations for media companies, authors, directors, producers, actors, etc.
  • Advice and contract negotiations for the creative sector: writers, artists, photographers, musicians, actors, performers, television and film producers, game developers, software developers, web designers, publishers, architects, designers in various industries such as fashion, furniture, toys, etc.
  • Photography and the law: including taking action against unauthorised use of pictures online, clearing of locations for photo shoots (copyright and freedom of panorama).
  • Art and law: Bart advises artists, art collectors, galleries, museums, and art foundations on various topics related to fine art and the law, including authentication disputes, export/import licenses, acquisitions, art finance (sponsorships, donations, leasing, etc.), art investments, tax optimisation, collection management, artists’ representation, art preservation, cooperation agreements, exchange of artefacts, recovery of stolen or looted art, art auctions, estate planning, legacy issues, etc.
  • Privacy and data protection.
  • Start-ups and the sharing economy: including legal advice on the incorporation of companies, draft of platform contracts, terms and conditions, rules on Airbnb, etc.
  • General contract law.
  • Arbitration: Bart Van Besien has a solid experience with arbitration disputes, both as a lawyer and as an arbitrator. Bart is certified to act as an arbiter in IP disputes by FORUM (US), and in domain name disputes by Cepani (Belgium), FORUM (USA), Czech Arbitration Court (Czech Republic), CIIDRC (Canada), and ADNDRC (Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur).
  • Sports law: including contract negotiations and portrait rights.
  • Telecom Law: including rules on numbering, cable and satellite transmission, networks, etc.

Bart works fluently in English, Dutch and French. He also has knowledge of German and Spanish.

Bart is a registered “Trademark Representative” with EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) and is a member of various organisations and associations, including BMM (Benelux Association for Trademarks and Design Law), BVA (Belgian Association for Authors’ Rights), IAL (Institute for Art & Law), Cepani40 (arbitration), Vlaams Pleitgenootschap, IABA (International Association of Boalt Alumni – University of California Berkeley Law), IBBA (Irish Belgian Business Association), VOKA (Flemish Netwerk of Enterprises), Christie’s Alumni, etc.

 

Publications & Conferences

Contact Bart Van Besien: