The FSMA Regulation on the marketing of virtual currencies to consumers
On Friday 17 March 2023, the Financial Services and Market Authority (FSMA) regulation on the marketing of virtual currencies to consumers (as approved by Royal Decree) has been published in the Official Gazette (the Regulation). | WHAT IS IT ABOUT? The Regulation imposes new requirements regarding the marketing of virtual currencies to consumers. It will […]
UPC Agreement | International Competences
UPC AGREEMENT | WHAT ARE THE COMPETENCES OF THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT? Part 3 | «INTERNATIONAL» COMPETENCES This article can be downloaded here. The introduction of the European patent with unitary effect is accompanied by the creation of a unified court with exclusive competences to hear certain actions concerning this new type of patent and […]
UPC Agreement | The Opt-Out
UPC AGREEMENT: THE «UNITARY PATENT PACKAGE» & UNIFIED PATENT COURT | THE OPT-OUT Full article can be downloaded here. The reform of European patent law introducing a European patent with unitary effect is accompanied by the creation of a Unified Patent Court (UPC). In the context of these developments in patent law, a number of […]
UPC Agreement | Material Competences
UPC AGREEMENT | WHAT ARE THE COMPETENCES OF THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT? Part 1 | MATERIAL COMPETENCES Full article can be downloaded here The introduction of the European patent with unitary effect is accompanied by the creation of a unified court with exclusive competences to hear certain actions relating to this new type of patent […]
UPC Agreement | General Overview
UPC AGREEMENT: THE «UNITARY PATENT PACKAGE» & UNIFIED PATENT COURT) | GENERAL OVERVIEW The full article can be downloaded here On 19 February 2013, twenty-five Member States of the European Union (“the EU”) signed an agreement creating the Unified Patent Court (“UPC”) (hereinafter “the UPC Agreement”). The UPC Agreement complements European Regulation No 1257/2012, […]
EU launches its DLT Pilot Regime
In June 2022, the EU published the final version of the ‘DLT Pilot Regime’. Later this month, on March 23rd, the regime will formally be open to applications. The regulatory sandbox will act as a probing ground for a secondary market in financial instruments that are based on distributed ledger technology. Under certain conditions, the […]
We are celebrating our 20 Years!
| 20 YEARS AGO… a group of highly skilled and motivated specialists founded an independent Belgian business law firm. The start of an exciting journey built on high quality expertise and always aiming for the best, practical and comprehensive legal assistance for a wide range of domestic and international clients. A fully integrated and multidisciplinary […]
Access to the Belgian insurance distribution market for UK providers in a post-Brexit era
Anticipating and reacting to the effects of Brexit, various insurance intermediaries based in the United Kingdom looked for means to continue serving the European market after the loss of their passporting rights (i.e. their right to recognition of their UK licence as an insurance intermediary throughout the EEA). A traditional solution, chosen by many UK […]
Simont Braun boosts its mediation capabilities with Alexia Faes named certified mediator
We are delighted to announce that Alexia Faes, associate in construction law, has been named registered mediator in civil and commercial matters by the Federale Bemiddelingscommissie – Commission fédérale de mediation. More than ever, enterprises want efficient and swift solutions rather than lengthy judicial proceedings to solve their disputes. At Simont Braun, we understand this […]
The Special Commission on Construction: in case of dispute, think of mediation!
The construction sector is a permanent mediation. Contractors, suppliers, site managers, all of them have to engage in constant dialogue to find pragmatic solutions to possible conflicts. The event “Construction & Mediation into the wild”, organised by Simont Braun and the Federal Mediation Commission on 31 August at Pairi Daiza, was the perfect opportunity to […]
Payment service providers can rely on bank secrecy in case of tax audit
Can payment service providers rely on bank secrecy in case of tax audits? On 31 May 2022, the Court of appeal of Ghent ruled on the possibility for the Belgian tax authorities to request information from payment service providers (PSP) regarding financial transactions. In its decision, the Court notably confirms the following: PSP should be […]
Blueprint for a large tax reform
Today, our Minister of Finance has released a “Blueprint for a large tax reform”, paving the way for a vast reform of our Belgian tax system. Key principles of this groundbreaking reform that would lead to a “dual income tax” system: Lowering taxation on professional income: tax rates would be reduced and made more progressive; […]