Breakfast-debate on “The reform of intellectual property in the European Union” with María Martín-Prat

Last Wednesday, 25th of May of 2016, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized a breakfast-debate with Maria Martin-Prat, Head of Unit – Copyright – DG CNECT, who made a presentation on “The reform of intellectual property in the European Union”.

The presentation began with the intervention of the Chamber’s Vice-president, Pablo López Álvarez, who thanked María Martín-Prat for participating at the breakfast-debate and made a review of her professional career. After that, Ángeles López Lobatón, Telefónica’s Director of Juridical Advising Movistar Plus, sponsoring company of the breakfast-debate, did also an introduction to the presentation, referring to their new acquisition Movistar + and their labor of production and provision of channels to third parties.

DSC_0021retocadaMaría Martín-Prat reviewed the current issues on intellectual property and copyright in the European Union, focusing on the audio-visual content although she also referred to other contents affected by copyright.

The speaker highlighted the matter of the territoriality and the challenge that supposes the existence of different domestic markets inside the European Union when homogenizing the policies relative to the intellectual property. She stressed the fact that the European Union is formed by 28 Member states and that each one has its own legal regimes faced to the wide and general community regulation of the directives. This means that every Member State applies them differently within the framework of the general regulation.

María Martín-Prat wanted also to make a distinction among the terms “regulation” and “directive” when regulating copyright, in reference to the proposal of copyright’s reform that will be presented after the summer. She also stressed the importance of a long-term jurisdiction.

The talk was followed by a round of questions, in which some of the attendees asked their doubts to the Head of Copyright’s Unit concerning the issues of roaming, the rights of competition and intellectual property or the need to act on the canon services.

The Chamber celebrates the success of the breakfast-debate and is grateful for the collaboration of all the participants to the event.

Info Day on the “Erasmus Young Entrepreneurs” programme

On Thursday, 26th of May of 2016, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, organized an Info Day on the European programme “Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs” in Brussels. The Chamber is, since the beginning of 2016, a new local contact point in Belgium for the programme’s management. New entrepreneurs and businessmen with experience had the opportunity to get information about the programme and clarity their doubts thanks to a personalized attention.

Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is an exchange programme for entrepreneurs financed by the European Union which offers new entrepreneurs and people that want to create a company, the opportunity to learn from experienced businessmen who manage SMEs in other participating countries. From the point of view of the businessman, hosting a new entrepreneur can contribute with new ideas and is also a good opportunity to know other European markets and to increase the international contacts without leaving the office.

Are you an experienced entrepreneur interested in exchanging experiences with other entrepreneurs in Europe? Contact the Chamber of Commerce, your contact point in Belgium.

For all those who were not able to attend the Info Day, you can find more information about the programme on this link.

You can also contact us by sending an e-mail to erasmus4youngentrepreneurs@e-camara.com.

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Resolution of Creative StartUp Europe Program

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, Finnova, FIBICC, the Department of Culture and Department of Labor and Social Security of the Spanish Embassy in Belgium, participating entities of Programme’s Creative StartUp Europe, agreed on providing personalized support fostering a relevant improvement as well as contributing to the general development of initiatives aimed at all program’s participating candidates*.

The Creative SartUp Europe Programme’s goal is primarily focused on the acknowledgement of the entrepreneurship of every Spanish young person located in Belgium regarding the cultural sector and creative industries. So on, this program aims at positively contributing to the empleability of Spanish youth living abroad in the cultural sector and creative industries.

In addition to this, thanks to the Program, the importance of culture and innovation as tools for the enhancement of social and economic development is recognized. As well as contributing to the stimulation of new generations to be employed at cultural projects abroad.

The Creative StartUp Europe Programme accounts for a relevant support towards culture, creation and innovation conceived as paths for entrepreneurship and support of enterprising in Belgium.

*Fulfillment of call’s requirements is required.

Board of Directors meeting

Last May 19th, the Official Chamber’s Board of Directors met in Brussels.

During the meeting, annual 2015 accounts of the Chamber were approved. A specific date was also scheduled for the celebration of the General Assembly, Tuesday 28th of June in Brussels.

Furthermore, the program of the Chamber’s next months’ activities was introduced and other relevant topics for the institution were discussed along the meeting. Further discussion focused on the Chamber’s strategic plan in the mid and short term.

Smart Cities: fostering opportunities between Spain and Brussels-Capital Region

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized last 27th of April a seminar on “Smart Cities: fostering opportunities between Spain and Brussels-Capital Region” in Brussels, in cooperation with Brussels Invest & Export. The event was organized with the aim of promoting the collaboration between the public and private sector of both countries for the development of projects such as Smart Cities and intelligent cities.

The seminar was attended by more than 30 representatives of institutions and local and Spanish companies interested in exchanging experiences in the sector.

The President of the Chamber, Juan Rodríguez-Villa, and the Commercial counselor of the Brussels Capital Region in Madrid, Ariane Léonard, welcomed the attendees and emphasized the excellent collaboration the institutions maintain with the aim of boosting trade relations between Spain and Brussels.

Céline Vanderborght, Project Manager Smart City of the BRIC (Brussels Regional Informatics Centre), opened the speeches by presenting the Smart Cities project of the Brussels Capital Region. “The citizens need to be the center of the Smart Cities strategies and the protection of their personal data is a key factor”, she emphasized. Furthermore, she highlighted the fact that the Brussels Capital Region disposes of highly qualified staff and the necessary means to develop a Smart City, but they require specific projects in order to reach this target.

Olivier Lefevre, of the NRB, continued with the vision of the Brussels Capital Region and stressed the importance of information being transparent so that not only public administrations participate in the projects but also citizens can propose and vote for different initiatives. Francis Hayen, who represented Belfius, emphasized the existence of financial solutions for the development of a Smart City and Eric Auquière, of the STIB-MIVB, talked about the commitment his company has in favor of the creation of a more accessible and sustainable city by aiming, for example, to create an ecologic public transport system.

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Marie Latour of Zabala Innovation Consulting talked about the vision and experience Spain has in the sector and presented in detail the European funding opportunities in the area of Smart Cities. Daniel Sanz, of Libelium, presented various global projects in which the company has participated for the installation of sensors. He explained the opportunities of the “Smart World” sector by giving some examples that help to improve the quality of life of citizens such as “Smart Parking”. Finally, Eduardo Martínez, of Indra, highlighted the importance of the integration of the services a Smart City can offer in different areas such as energy, health or transport within the same platform. During his speech, he showed the audience the actual case of the Smart City project developed by Indra in La Coruña, which shows the many possibilities a comprehensive platform offers. Besides, it allows to monitor the different areas of a city.

DSC_0167After the speeches, a discussion board took place in which Iñigo de Palacio, Senior Global Director Institutional Relations at Indra, who was the moderator of the seminar, invited the participants to debate about relevant issues in the field of Smart Cities.

It was concluded that, in order to not only have a Smart City but also a Smart Europe, we have to establish some standards to be able to guide the companies. The idea that there´s a “central-player” that can moderate the ecosystem of the Smart Cities altogether was also suggested.

Finally, David Martinez Hornillos, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Spanish Embassy, and Tanguy De Lestré, member of the Cabinet of Secretary of State for digitalization of the Brussels Capital Region, closed the seminar by thanking the organization and the participants for assisting the event and by encouraging the Belgian and Spanish companies and entities to establish lines of cooperation in the future in this sector. David Martínez Hornillos encouraged the local companies to support each other by sharing their knowledge and by making use of Spain´s practical experience.

 

 

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