Highly Regarded Intellectual Property Lawyer Sari Depreeuw Joins Crowell & Moring in Brussels

Brussels—September 2, 2021: Sari Depreeuw is joining Crowell & Moring’s Brussels office as a partner in its Technology & Brand Protection Group, expanding the firm’s capability to counsel clients on complex intellectual property matters in the visual arts, digital, and audiovisual sectors.

Depreeuw plans to focus on copyright and digital law, building upon more than 15 years of experience representing a wide range of Belgian, European, and international clients on copyright, neighboring and database rights, outsourcing and software contracts, and acquisition and use of digital assets.

Depreeuw is the latest lawyer to join the firm’s growing Technology & Intellectual Property Department. In early July, Crowell & Moring combined with Brinks, Gilson & Lione, a premier 100-year old IP firm, internationally recognized for its intellectual property, technology, brand protection, and digital transformation capabilities. Crowell & Moring is now one of the most active technology protection firms in the United States, as measured by patent activity tracked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 

“The European and national legislators are adopting new, complex systems to address the technical and commercial evolutions, which challenge the roles of authors, performers, producers, and other right holders,” said Chris Cole, co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Technology & Brand Protection Group. “Sari’s experience in copyright protection in the digital era bolsters our capabilities to guide clients through these new regulatory initiatives.”

Depreeuw joins the firm from Daldewolf, where she co-headed the firm’s IP-Digital team. She has in-depth experience working with clients in the media, technology, entertainment, medical, autonomous vehicle, and digital sectors, ranging from international clients to start-ups. She has represented clients before the Belgian data protection authority in complaint proceedings and before the Belgian courts and is regularly appointed by the main arbitral institution in Belgium – CEPANI – to decide in conflicts regarding .be domain names.

“Recent legislative initiatives show the EU’s determination to regulate certain digital technologies, including more recently, AI and the access to and re-use of data,” said Kristof Roox, co-managing partner of the Brussels office. “New regulation will introduce new liabilities for international companies, including U.S.-based companies with European activities. Sari’s experience with the existing copyright legal framework, combined with her experience in data protection, will be important to clients as they navigate this complex legal arena.”

Depreeuw has conducted several studies in the field of copyright law for the European Commission and the Belgian government. She is currently working on a study for the European Commission on copyright and artificial intelligence in selected cultural sectors, estimated to publish in the fall.

Depreeuw serves as the president of the Belgian Copyright Association and as a member of the editorial board of Computerrecht, a peer-reviewed Belgian-Dutch IT law journal. She is a part-time professor at UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels.

Depreeuw earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Namur, her law degree from Catholic University of Leuven, and her master of laws degree in intellectual property law from Catholic University of Brussels/Leuven. She received her doctorate degree in copyright law from Free University of Brussels.

“Crowell & Moring has a top-tier and highly reputable IP practice,” Depreeuw said. “I look forward to working closely with Crowell & Moring’s deep bench of intellectual property and privacy and cybersecurity lawyers to assist clients with their most pressing IP issues in the digital marketplace.”