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Portrait ofTom Heremans

Tom Heremans

Partner

CMS DeBacker
Chaussée de La Hulpe 178
1170 Brussels
Belgium
Languages Dutch, English, French, German

Tom specialises in copyright, trademark and patent law, advertising and marketing law, Internet and electronic commerce, media and technology, privacy, distribution law and commercial litigation. His clients include major food stuff manufacturers, domain name registries, retailers, e- commerce companies and international football organisations.

Tom was called to the Belgian Bar in 1991.

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“Tom is very hands-on and solutions-oriented, and his advice is always clear and concise.”

WTR 1000, 2024, Silver

"Tom is an excellent lawyer with a very broad scope of hands-on knowledge. He is an excellent communicator and a reassuring element of the team."

Chambers Europe, 2023

"Tom Heremans and Lisbeth Depypere are highly competent IP lawyers with a clear view of complex litigation matters."

Feedback from a client - Legal 500, 2023

"Total willingness to evaluate legal matters in consideration of the client’s interests. High degree of availability for the development of strategies, both procedural and non-procedural. Professional guidance in court proceedings. Tom Heremans and Lisbeth Depypere stand out."

Feedback from a client - Legal 500, 2023

"Tom Heremans and Renaud Dupont are trusted IP partners who bring expertise and common sense to bear."

Feedback from a client, Legal 500, 2022

"Tom Heremans is our outside brain for legal work."

Feedback from a client, Legal 500, 2022

Relevant experience

  • Conducting domain name disputes as an  accredited “.com” or “.be” panelist or acting as plaintiff or defendant for national and international domain name holders
  • Proceedings before the Court of Justice of EU with regard to copyright and related rights in a case regarding satellite broadcasting (Airfield)
  • Represented a printing company before the Belgian Supreme Court regarding the alleged counterfeit of software
  • Providing advice to national and international companies regarding sales promotions and comparative advertising
  • Advising sports associations on unauthorised broadcasting of football games and on piracy and customs matters
  • Representing multinationals in trade mark disputes (e.g. injunctive relief proceedings, counterfeit seizures, custom seizures, claims for damages, …)
  • Assisted an international food stuffs manufacturer in a dispute regarding design protection of a food product
  • Conducted patent litigation for an international transport company in relation to an invention of a particular tram system
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Memberships & Roles

  • Lecturer at the EHSAL Management School and Odisee (KULeuven) on the legal aspects of marketing and of social media.
  • Former member of the Council for the Intellectual Property
  • Former president of the Benelux Trade Mark Association B.M.M.
  • Winner of the Wim Mak Award in 2006 of the Benelux Trade Mark Association
  • Member of the International Trademark Association (INTA)
  • Member of the Belgian Copyright Law Association
  • Member of the editorial board of the intellectual property journal I.R.D.I.
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Publications

  • T. HEREMANS and E. LE GRELLE, « Droit du marketing - 101 questions / réponses » (in French), Larcier Intersentia, November 2023, 349 pages, available here
  • T. HEREMANS “Belgium - Sustainability claims and greenwashing”, cms.law, 2023, available here.
  • T. HEREMANS “Mitsubishi : rots in de-branding van alternatief merkgebruik”, BMM Bulletin, 2019, p. 69-80.
  • T. HEREMANS, “De Antigoonleer en het beslag inzake namaak” IRDI 2018, p. 139-142.
  • T. HEREMANS, “101 Marketing Law Questions and Answers” (in Dutch), fourth edition, published by Intersentia, 316 pages.
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Education

  • 1998 - University of California - Los Angeles, USA (LL.M. )
  • 1993 - University of Brussels, ULB - Belgium (Postgraduate in Business Law)
  • 1991 - Bar admission (Brussels, Belgium)
  • 1991 - University of Brussels, VUB - Belgium (Law Degree)
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23/08/2022
Sustainability claims and greenwashing in Belgium
Return to CMS Green Globe

Feed

05/03/2024
Domain names are assets that can be attached
On 16 January 2024, the Brussels Court of First Instance rendered an interesting decision about the right of a creditor to attach the domain names of his debtor and to sell them to the highest bidder.We...
23/01/2024
Droit du marketing - Tout ce que vous devez savoir en 2024 : greenwashing,...
L’année 2024 marquera l’exécution de plusieurs réglementations tant attendues, et le droit du marketing ne sera pas épargné !   Ce webinaire organisé en collaboration avec Larcier Intersentia...
07/12/2023
Belgium: New decision about an advertisement for an SUV
November 2023
08/11/2022
Technology Transformation – Media
The media sector is known to be highly competitive, with that competition driving innovation. Older media businesses have had to grapple with disruptive new entrants. And those new entrants are constantly working to deliver better and more engaging content and user experiences to maintain their advantage. Digitisation has changed how media companies interact with their audience in ways we could not have imagined just a few years ago, but this comes with risk. This report is a deep dive into the data first produced for the report Technology Transformation: Managing Risks in a Changing Landscape. This saw over 500 corporate counsel and risk managers surveyed from multiple industries across the world. Here we look in detail at the 75 respondents from the media sector, and their perspectives on the risks associated with busi­ness-crit­ic­al technologies, including emerging technologies. What did we find? Media is a dynamic sector and can be an early adopter of many novel technologies as companies push for competitive advantages to create and satisfy customer demand. As we look to the future, the sector does seem underprepared in some areas, which is a potential cause for concern. Download the Technology Transformation media sector report now to read aboutThe principal drivers in the adoption of busi­ness-crit­ic­al technology in the media sectorConfidence in managing tech-related risks among senior media executivesFuture threats from new technologies like AI and blockchainWhich plans and processes media companies are putting in place to protect tech in­fra­struc­ture­Cul­tur­al barriers to managing tech risks in the media sectorPreferred approaches to dispute resolution in the media sector
08/09/2022
Technology Transformation - Consumer Products & Retail
Digitalisation has transformed how consumer products are manufactured, distributed and sold. The push to maintain a competitive advantage, drives increased investment in new technologies. This investment may reduce operational cost and ease the retention of legacy systems, but what challenges arise and how do businesses approach the changing risk profile?This report is a deep dive into data first produced for the re­port Tech­no­logy Transformation: Managing Risks in a Changing Landscape. In the original report we surveyed over 500 corporate counsel and risk managers from multiple industries across the world. Here, we look in detail at the 75 respondents surveyed in the consumer and retail sector, and their perspectives on the risks associated with busi­ness-crit­ic­al technologies, including emerging technologies. Our survey shows that businesses across the sector, whether retailers or manufacturers, have the same concerns but the influences on the adoption of technology, the resulting risks, and the approaches taken to mitigate or resolve those risks vary depending on whether or not the business involves a direct sales relationship with the consumer. Download the consumer and retail sector report now to read about: Drivers of technology adoption in the consumer and retail sectorNew risks emerging and traditional barriers to risk man­age­ment­Cur­rent technology risks in the consumer and retail sectorFuture risks and measures to deal with themPreferred approaches to technology dispute resolution for the consumer and retail sector
23/08/2022
A legal storm rages in Belgium about the addresses of influencers, but...
Earlier this month, professional influencers rang an alarm about the Belgian administration's intention to impose fines of up to EUR 80,000 on influencers who do not disclose mandatory information about...
28/06/2022
Technology Transformation: Managing Risks in a Changing Landscape
Changing tech, changing risks
11/05/2022
Omnibus Directive finally transposed into Belgian law
The Belgian Parliament adopted the Act that transposes the European Omnibus Directive N° 2019/2161, which aims at better enforcement and modernisation of consumer protection rules. The new Act will be...
09/05/2022
Price increases in commercial contracts in wartime and post COVID-19
Supply-chain problems post COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine are key factors for price increases currently affecting most industries. Undertakings that supply products and services should check their commercial...
27/04/2022
New consumer guarantees and digital content rules as from 1 June 2022
On 1 June 2022, the new Belgian rules on consumer guarantees and digital content and services will enter into effect. With the new rules, Belgium has finally transposed EU Directive 2019/770 on certain...
23/03/2022
Class actions in Belgium
See the Overview of the Representative Actions Directive >> 1. Do you have a specific procedure or procedures for bringing “opt-in” class actions?  If so, please outline such procedure(s) and...
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18/01/2022
CMS assists the owners of Dobby in the sale of their company to Gerantis
CMS assisted the owners of Dobby, a pioneer in the development of management software for the real estate sector, in the sale of their company to Gerantis, which is backed by the investment funds M80...