Technology Contracting, IP and Commercial Work

Work

Axel's work sits between commercial contracting, technology, intellectual property and corporate transactions.

The categories below are deliberately broad. Individual matters often involve several of them at once. A technology partnership may include licensing, data processing, exclusivity, governance and regulatory questions. The aim of this page is to show the different types of work, not to pretend that every mandate fits neatly into one box.

Technology & Commercial Contracts

Axel drafts, reviews and negotiates agreements through which organisations buy, sell, develop, implement or operate technology and related services. This includes both supplier side and customer side work. The legal approach depends on the product, delivery model, commercial leverage and operational importance of the arrangement.

Typical work

•SaaS and cloud agreements
•Software licences
•Software development and implementation
•Professional services and consultancy
•Service level agreements
•Technology procurement
•Hardware supply and maintenance
•Platform and marketplace agreements
•Reseller, referral and implementation partnerships
•General terms and conditions
•Manufacturing and supply agreements with a technology component
•Contract remediation and renegotiation

Experience

Experience includes negotiating enterprise software arrangements, adapting international supplier templates to Belgian and European requirements, drafting provider terms for digital products and supporting technology companies in negotiations with major customers and suppliers.

Strategic Partnerships & Innovation

Technology is frequently developed or commercialised with another organisation. Those arrangements require more than a statement that the parties intend to cooperate. The contract must define what each party contributes, who decides, who owns the results, which markets remain open, what happens if the project succeeds and what remains if it ends early.

Typical work

•R&D collaborations
•Funded development
•Joint development and co-creation
•Proofs of concept and pilot projects
•Technology partnerships
•Consortium agreements
•University and research collaborations
•Technology transfer
•Spin off structures
•Platform ecosystems
•Governance and escalation structures
•Exclusivity, field of use and commercialisation arrangements

Experience

Axel has worked on collaborations in biotechnology, agritech, financial services, research infrastructure and software. His work regularly concerns background IP, project results, licensing, commercialisation, freedom to operate, governance and the transition from development to market.

IP Transactions & Protection

Intellectual property becomes commercially relevant through contracts and enforcement. Axel works on the ownership, licensing, transfer, protection and practical use of IP in commercial relationships.

Typical work

•IP licences and assignments
•Software and technology licensing
•Background, foreground and sideground IP
•Commercialisation models
•Trademark applications and portfolio work
•Trademark oppositions and coexistence
•Copyright matters
•Trade secrets and confidentiality
•Domain name disputes
•IP clauses in commercial contracts
•IP ownership reviews
•Open source questions

Experience

Experience includes complex licensing arrangements, IP structures for research and development, European trademark matters, settlement negotiations with international right holders and two successful WIPO domain name proceedings.

Technology Transactions & Due Diligence

Technology and IP issues rarely stop when the due diligence report is delivered. Axel supports corporate teams and clients in identifying technology, IP, data and commercial risks, translating those findings into transaction documentation and following through on the actions required before and after closing.

Typical work

•Buy side due diligence
•Vendor due diligence
•IP and software ownership reviews
•Material customer and supplier agreement reviews
•Change of control analysis
•Open source and licensing review
•Data protection and cybersecurity review
•Regulatory authorisations
•SPA input and specific indemnities
•Conditions precedent
•Closing actions
•Post closing remediation
•Contract transfers, amendments and consents
•Separation and transition arrangements

Experience

Axel has worked on numerous Belgian and cross border transactions involving software, data, life sciences, digital services, manufacturing and other technology intensive businesses. His role has included due diligence, report drafting, transaction document input and implementation of follow up actions.

Digital Regulation & Public Contracting

Technology contracts operate within a growing body of European regulation. The regulatory question is often inseparable from product design, data use, security obligations and contractual allocation of responsibility. Axel also has regular experience with technology contracting involving Belgian and Dutch public authorities and public sector organisations.

Typical work

•GDPR and data contracts
•AI related contracting
•AI Act
•Data Act
•Data Governance Act
•NIS2
•DORA
•Digital Services Act
•Technology procurement by public bodies
•Public sector SaaS and software agreements
•Data sharing
•Cybersecurity clauses
•Regulatory support in transactions
•Contracting for digital products and platforms

Experience

His work includes reviewing regulatory obligations in commercial agreements, negotiating public sector technology contracts and supporting clients whose products combine software, data and regulated services.

Context

Axel practises at Cresco and handles matters as part of the relevant Cresco team. The descriptions above are intended to explain his experience and do not constitute an offer of legal services through Astaudan.

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