Katia MANHAEVE
FACTSHEET
VERSATILE, EXPERIENCED AND ENTHUSIASTIC EXPERT IN IP AND RELATED FIELDS
• Attorney registered with the Luxembourg Bar
• 25+ years experience - former partner and head of IP/TMT practice at a Magic Circle law firm
• Works with international blue chip clients and institutions, local companies, SME’s and public entities
• Broad sector expertise including general retail, e-commerce, finance, luxury goods and fashion, FMCG, creative industries, food and beverage, industrial components, pharma and life sciences
• Graduate of Universities of Namur, Leuven and Salamanca (“cum laude”)
• Fluent in French, English and Dutch; good understanding of German and Luxembourgish
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
• Market leading (tier 1) IP attorney : trademark, copyright, domain name, commercial name, designs, database, software and patent issues
• advisory assistance : IP due diligence, IP protection, review clearance searches, risks of infringement, contract interpretation
• contractual drafting and negotiation (IP & IT) : assignment and licensing, co-existence agreements, collaboration and R&D agreements, non disclosure agreements
• strong litigation track record before the Luxembourg courts and the courts of the European Union (General Court and Court of Justice) : infringement, cancellation, opposition, refusal proceedings
• Active member of the national and international IP community (see "associations" below); author and speaker
• Author of Luxembourg chapter : "Copyright in the information society : a guide to national implementation of the Europeean Directive", B. Lindner; T. Shapiro; Edward Elgar Publishing, 2nd edition
DISTRIBUTION, TRADE PRACTICES, MEDIA, E-COMMERCE, LIFE SCIENCES
• Commercial and distribution agreements, including franchising and agency (contentious and non contentious : terms and conditions; termination; licensing)
• Author of Luxembourg chapter : “International Franchising”, D, Campbell, New York, Juris Publishing, 2nd edition; and “International Agency and Distribution law”, D, Campbell, New York, Juris Publishing, 2nd edition (update 2020)
• Trade practices and trade secrecy, consumer protection, advertising, media, gaming and gambling : legal clearance, litigation and contract review
• labelling and product compliance/product liability issues
• internet and e-commerce : review general terms and conditions; compliance legislation distance contracts; e-signature; website legal compliance
• pharma and life sciences : contractual and regulatory issues
DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY
• GDPR compliance : contractual documentation and policies, general advice (surveillance, data transfers, special categories of data, cookies, etc), data breaches
• data retention obligations
• privacy and image rights : contracts and litigation
ASSOCIATIONS AND RANKINGS
• President of the Luxembourg Chapter of the International Association for the Protection of
Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
• Former president of the Benelux Association for Trademark and Design Law (BMM) and former
member of the board and legislative committee; current BMM member
• Former appointed member and Luxembourg representative of the Benelux Council of Intellectual Property, an advisory body to the Benelux Intellectual Property Office.
• Member of the IP/IT committee of the Luxembourg bar
• ranked as a notable practitioner in Band 1 by Chambers Europe 2019, a leading individual by Legal 500 2020, an IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property 2019 and a Leading/Gold Trademark
Professional by World Trademark Review 2022.
Legal 500 2020 : “Katia Manhaeve has a wealth of IP expertise across the pharmaceutical, e-commerce and finance sectors; she has recently led on a number of significant copyright and trade mark disputes.”
World Trademark Review 2019 : “Katia Manhaeve is dedicated to her clients but also does much for the greater good of all IP stakeholders. She straddles the contentious/non-contentious divide artfully and is an authoritative all-rounder with broad international horizons.”
Chambers Europe 2019 (band 1): “Katia Manhaeve is a highly regarded IP specialist who handles a variety of advisory and contentious patent, trade mark, design and copyright matters. She is well respected by commentators, who note her lengthy career in IP matters.”
World Trademark Review 2020 (ranked Gold): “She is a very good technical practitioner, who is firm but fair in the way that she assesses matters … a thorough and conscientious practitioner.”