Thursday February 19, 2004
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Room 80 (Moot Courtroom)
Free and Open to all!
Lunch Served
The digitalization of content is a cornerstone for the further evolution of the information society. At the same time, it is recognized that the public sector collects and produces a very wide range of information in many different areas (geography, weather, traffic, patent and educational, etc.). Service providers trying to take initiatives involving public sector information typically wish to cover various geographical entities. Yet, there are considerable differences in the rules and practices of each EU Member State governing access to and reutilization of public sector information. The recent EU Directive 2003/98 aims at creating a level playing field within the various EU Member States. This lecture sets out the efficiencies sought and discusses the means to achieve them.Erik Valgaeren is a partner at the Brussels office of the international law firm Stibbe. His practice focuses on IT, internet, e-commerce and electronic communications law. His work includes the drafting of contracts, advising on legislation and regulatory aspects and litigation, both before national courts and arbitral tribunals. Typical projects include web services, outsourcing, facilities management, system integration, software implementation, data transmission, databases, privacy and data protection, distribution and partnerships.
Erik Valgaeren graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven (1990), and obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of Chicago School of Law in 1991. Furthermore, he attended a programme of Master in Computer Management by the Free University of Brussels. Prior to joining Stibbe in 1993, Erik Valgaeren was an associate in the Washington DC and Brussels offices of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering. He is a member of both the Brussels Bar and the New York Bar (admitted in 1992). He became a partner at Stibbe in 2001. He is an active member of the legal committee of Belcliv, the Belgian association for IT security.