Olivier Vrins

Olivier Vrins obtained a degree in law (1998) from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. He graduated as a Master in European Law at the University of Ghent's European Institute, Belgium (1999) and as a Master in Intellectual Propert & Unfair Competition Law at the University of London's Queen Mary & Westfield College, UK (2000). He joined the Brussels Bar in 2000. From then on, he has practised as a lawyer in the Brussels-based law firm ALTIUS, where he is a partner in the Intellectual Property department. Olivier Vrins has extensive knowledge of the system of customs enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in the European Union (EU) and has also gained expertise in a broad range of other IPR-related topics, dealing with trade mark, copyright and patent litigation, while specializing also in the field of designations of origin and geographical indications. He is the co-editor of the Oxford University Press bookEnforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Through Border Measures. Law and Practice in the EU(now in its second edition), and has published numerous contributions in IP-related reviews and books. Olivier Vrins has acted as a member of the Sub-Group on Legal Framework set up within the former European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy, which reviewed the implementation status of the EU Enforcement Directive and made recommendations to the European Commission on how to improve IPR enforcement in the EU. He is currently a member of the 'Legal & International' Working Group of the EU Observatory on infringements of Intellectual Property Rights and of the EUIPO's pool of experts on IPR enforcement. He is also a regular speaker at seminars on IPR enforcement and other IPR-related subjects. In 2012, Olivier Vrins was invited to address the European Parliament on the issue of the compatibility of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) with the EUAcquis on IPR enforcement and civil liberties. In 2013, he was awarded the 'Wim Mak' prize by the BMM (Benelux Trade Mark and Design Law Association) for his article Regulation 608/2013: Towards a more effective customs enforcement of intellectual property rights?, published in BMM Bulletin 2013/3--4 (April 2014). He is a member of the BMM Bulletin's editorial board.