ICT Law: lawyers with nerdy qualities
From the main entrance of the Media Center you can see the flag of ICT Law are standing on the balcony of the third floor. Since September, Mathieu Paapst and Jessica Hof in their beautiful office in the media and ICT heart of Groningen. Although there are more than twenty legal advisors working at the Amsterdam headquarters of the legal advice office, Mathieu and Jessica are only the two of them in Groningen. Yet they think that will change soon. High time to get to know these two ICT lawyers.
Nice spot
The two are doing well in the Mediacentrale. The ICTRecht office is spacious, light and modernly furnished. Mathieu and Jessica also have access to the balcony from their office. “When we moved into this space, we wanted to be able to access the balcony from our office. Waarborg then created a door in the glass wall. Despite being on the inside of the building, we can now let in fresh air,” Mathieu says proudly.
A large part of the space is taken up by a gigantic scaffolding table that can seat about ten people. There is also a comfortable seating area where guests are welcomed in a relaxed manner. “We will probably get reinforcements soon. Then we really need more space”, Matthieu doubts. Because the gigantic table and the seating area are definitely staying.
Groningen branch
The brand new branch director of ICTRecht is an ICT lawyer and until recently taught at the Faculty of Law of the University of Groningen. “I also did jobs for ICTRecht. The clients in the north were my responsibility. Groningen is of course a real IT city and our client base in the north grew steadily. At one point I reached a point where I had to choose between grading a pile of exams and reviewing client files. Both jobs had to be completed on the same evening. Then I realized: I can no longer combine these, I have to choose.” Mathieu entered into discussions with ICTRecht and they soon reached an agreement: a second branch would be opened in Groningen, headed by Mathieu Paapst.
From domain name to privacy issues
The fact that the field of work of an IT lawyer is very broad is evident from the range of assignments that ICTRecht carries out. “For example, I am currently negotiating with a large American party,” says Jessica. “A webshop in the Netherlands has the same name as this American party and has been working under this name for years. Until recently, the American company only had an American trademark registration, but they recently registered their trademark in Europe as well. Now they want to take over the domain name of the Dutch webshop. Then you are dealing with a cross-border case, in which I not only have to know the European, but also the American registers. That is very complex.”
In addition to (negotiations on) domain name registration, trademark law and trade law, ICTRecht is often confronted with privacy issues. “For example, we need to know everything about the new privacy regulation that will come into effect in May 2018. This tightened privacy law has many consequences for organizations that process personal data,” Mathieu explains. “This law suddenly gives us a completely different clientele. Where we previously mainly had IT companies as clients, more and more mental health institutions, occupational health services and, for example, doctors' practices are asking for legal IT advice. For example, they want to know whether their handling of personal data is legally responsible.”
Home shopping guarantee
Another area ICTRecht specialises in is the Thuiswinkel guarantee. “For our client Thuiswinkel.org, we check all affiliated webshops to see if they meet the conditions of the Thuiswinkel guarantee. For example, we check whether they meet the legal requirements regarding information provision, how they deal with returns, but also whether they do not use legally established rules to entice consumers. For example, you are not allowed to advertise that your customers can return a purchased item within 14 days, because that is a legal consumer right.”
Little bit nerdy
When asked whether you also have to be a bit of a nerd to be able to give good legal advice to an IT company, both start laughing. “Yes, you do have to have some knowledge of programming,” Jessica admits. “At one point we had a job where I had to know the technical operation of Microsoft and Google, otherwise I couldn’t give advice. I had to get my teeth into that.” But also when drawing up an IT contract, an SLA or to be able to conduct negotiations in a tender, for example, it is useful to have technical knowledge. “That also sets ICTRecht apart from the rest of the market. We can talk to programmers and really understand what they mean. Not every lawyer can do that,” Jessica says with a smile.
That is also exactly the reason why ICTRecht has set up its own academy. “That academy is intended for lawyers and legal experts who want to further their education in IT law, but also for programmers who want to gain more knowledge of the legal aspects,” Mathieu explains.
Do you have a legal IT issue or do you want to see the ICTRecht space with your own eyes? Feel free to drop by Mathieu and Jessica. They have enough space for a cup of coffee ;-).