Intellectual property and the Belgian Constitution

Patent law rarely appears in constitutional textbooks, yet in Belgium it is a clear example of the Constitution at work. Most rules on patents, trademarks and designs are no longer made or applied by Belgian institutions alone. They are shared with European and Benelux bodies, and the constitutional basis for that sharing is a single article.

Article 34: transferring powers to international institutions

Article 34 of the Belgian Constitution allows the exercise of specific powers to be attributed, by treaty or by law, to institutions of public international law. It is the provision that makes Belgian membership of the European Union possible, and it equally underpins the jurisdiction of international courts over intellectual property disputes affecting Belgium.

Property protection: Article 16

Article 16 provides that no one may be deprived of their property except for reasons of public interest, in the cases and manner laid down by law, and against fair compensation paid in advance. Together with Article 1 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, it frames debates about compulsory licences and the limits that the legislature may place on exclusive IP rights.

The Unified Patent Court and its Brussels division

Belgium is a contracting member state of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court. The court began operating on 1 June 2023 and decides infringement and validity disputes over European patents and unitary patents with effect across participating states. Brussels hosts a local division of the court of first instance. For Belgian constitutional law, the UPC is a textbook application of Article 34: a judicial function once exercised by national courts is now shared with an international court.

Benelux and European registration

Trademarks and designs for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are registered by the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property, and the Benelux Court of Justice interprets the common Benelux rules. Patents are granted either nationally, through the Belgian Office for Intellectual Property within the FPS Economy, or by the European Patent Office under the European Patent Convention.

From Belgian constitutional law to patent practice

Many readers of this blog are lawyers and scientists working across systems. If you plan to practise before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the registration examination, often called the patent bar, tests US patent law and procedure rather than European rules, but the comparative instincts that constitutional law teaches carry over well. Wysebridge Patent Bar Review prepares candidates for that exam with structured courses and practice questions, and you can compare its course features before you enrol.