Sari Depreeuw is a partner in Crowell & Moring’s Brussels office and a member of the firm’s Technology & Brand Protection Group. She focuses on copyright and digital law, with more than 15 years of experience advising and representing a wide range of Belgian, European, and international clients on copyright, neighboring rights, software and database rights, and on all issues relating to the access to, acquisition and use of digital assets.
Sari has in-depth experience working with clients from the media and entertainment, technology, medical services, autonomous vehicles, and digital sectors, including both start-ups and major international companies. She frequently represents clients before the Belgian courts.
Sari is an active member of the Belgian copyright community. She conducted studies for both the European Commission and the Belgian government on the subject of copyright. She is also president of the Belgian Copyright Association, a member of the editorial board of Computerrecht, a peer-reviewed Dutch-Belgian IT journal, and a board member of Jubilee, an artists’ organization. She is a part-time professor at the UCLouvain/Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles, where she teaches intellectual property and media law.
Representative Matters
- Represented a major Belgian book publisher in litigation concerning the publishing and audiovisual rights attached to a graphic character.
- Represented an international software company in a dispute with a software integrator and its licensor, and negotiated a settlement.
- Represented the Belgian government in a question concerning copyright and competition law before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
- Analyzed resale rights in order to define the legal obligations of a well-reputed, international art gallery and adapted contracts as necessary.
- Audited authors’ and performers’ contracts for a broadcasting organization.
