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Benelux: At-a-glance: Trade mark office contact details Benelux Trademarks Office, Bordewijklaan 15, NL-2591 XR Den Haag, Nederlands Tel: +31 (0)70 349 11 11 Fax: +31 (0)70-347 57 08 Website:  www.bmb-bbm.org 2010 was a mixed bag for the IP m... [more]

2010 was a mixed bag for the IP market in Luxembourg according to local IP lawyers. Since 2008 the government has been working to bolster the IP regime, creating a series of incentives ranging from extensive tax reductions on income derived from IP, to strategic partnerships and financial support for R&D activities, and the life sciences sector in particular is getting a lot of government attention.

Firms report an increasing amount of work in the biotech field in broad practical areas, including research on ways to support the industry's infrastructure, equipment and employment needs. There is now "a new attractive tax regime for intellectual property as well as legislation granting important incentives for the development of R&D activities in Luxembourg" says a leading lawyer. And "as a result, a number of international companies, SMEs and start-ups are migrating their IP rights or starting up new activities in Luxembourg."

The wider European trend of pharmaceutical companies' increasingly contentious stance has helped: "Previously there were no cases in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology but now we are seeing some contentious and pre-contentious" says one lawyer. "Often the cases are pan-European, but while in the past Luxembourg was not looked at because it is such a small place and litigation is too expensive for the size of the market, now it seems that some of the blockbuster drugs do not want any infringement anywhere."

But the developments do not go far enough, argue some partners. "Tax legislation has been successful but not as successful as we would like it to have been," says a partner; "some companies have moved to Luxembourg, but some sectors are missed out of the tax legislation for example in copyright, where software is included but nothing on music or films... it is still work in progress". Another example for lawyers is the Enforcement Directive, which was legislated into force in 2010. While it provides more means to attack infringers there are still no criminal sanctions in place.

Although 2010 was a stronger year than 2009 for the economy, the "steady" growth has not managed to completely reassure. One partner describes the current environment as being in "a slow moving state" and says that there is now "a perception that the recovery might not be as solid as originally thought and more of a long-lasting predicament, so clients are reluctant." "We will recover" says the lawyer, "but I'm not sure if it will be a smooth ride or a rollercoaster."