Simont Braun faced a considerable setback at the end of 2010 with the loss of partner Benoît Michaux to Hoyng Monegier. Michaux is one of the biggest names in the market for copyright, especially in the traditional fields of music and film. Nevertheless, the firm has a formidable reputation and only time will tell what affect the move will have. For the moment, partners Emmanual Cornu, strong in media and entertainment, and Fernand de Visscher will be the copyright specialists. Practitioners rate the firm as top flight in both the so-called soft IP and hard IP fields. It is firmly positioned in Tier two for patents. De Visscher, who remains the president of the Advisory Council for Intellectual Property to the government, recently advised Pierre Fabre Médicaments on the first case in Belgium related to SPC infringement that may result in damages. On the trade mark side, Eric De Gryse, another key partner, recently acted for Vrumona (part of the Heineken group) to defend its brand against Coca-Cola and Energy Brands and Cornu advised ICE Watch against Swatch in international litigation.