Brussels Metropolitan Area
Ted is a partner with over 30 years’ experience who heads Wiggin’s Brussels office. He is a recognised authority on international and European copyright law, advising clients on regulatory, policy (lawyering for lobbyists), litigation and commercial matters. Current projects include: • Advising clients, including in the audiovisual, video games, music and publishing sectors, on a range of compliance, enforcement, contentious and commercial issues related to recently adopted EU legislation including the AI Act, Media Freedom Act, European Accessibility Act, Data Act, Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Acts and the Portability Regulation; AV Media Services, Consumer Protection, DSM Copyright and SatCabII Directives; and national implementation of the forgoing where relevant; • Providing legal advice, including a proposal and accompanying materials, in support of an initiative to secure an EU-level legislation to counter live event piracy; • Engaging in compliance and policy work on the implementation of the AI Act, the proposed Digital Fairness Act, next steps on AV Media Services, the RAAP/Kwantum aftermath and other copyright issues at EU level; • Competition law compliance; • Advising on the interface between copyright and artificial intelligence; • Managing a multi-jurisdictional litigation project for the publishing sector; • Representing major music streamers in a case before the Belgian Constitutional Court, which is now pending before the CJEU; • Counseling on complex rights management issues related to collective management organisations, independent management entities including in respect of on-demand services, direct injection, extended collective licensing, retransmission, private copy and remuneration rights. Ted joined Wiggin in January 2013 from the Motion Picture Association, in Brussels, where he served as General Counsel for Europe. Ted co-published Copyright in the Information Society: A Guide to National Implementation of the European Directive (2011), with an updated edition in 2019, and a third edition forthcoming. He has written numerous articles on copyright law including commentary on CJEU judgments and is a frequent speaker at international conferences. Ted is admitted to the bar of Massachusetts, the Brussels Bar (French-speaking) and is a solicitor in England and Wales.
HEAD OF MPA’S EUROPEAN LEGAL DEPARTMENT (4 lawyers): Overseeing the provision of legal services, advice, litigation and compliance, to the MPA/Member Companies related to: Intellectual Property/New Media: Copyright (Premier League case before CJEU), digital rights management (Mulholland Drive case in France), Internet (Sabam/Scarlet and kino.to cases before CJEU) and enforcement (Newzbin, PirateBay, etc.,) and a wide range of other matters. Audiovisual regulation, corporate, competition, data protection, tax, employment, and trade. COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT: Legal aspects of negotiations and relations with collecting societies such as AGICOA (audiovisual producers’ collecting society). NEGOTIATION: Industry codes of conduct, joint positions, legal settlements, content protection agreements. TECHNOLOGY-RELATED: Representing MPA on content protection matters in Europe in industry consortia and standards bodies such as the Digital Video Broadcasting project. POLICY: Monitoring and providing input on legislative and regulatory activity International scope - WIPO, WTO, UNESCO, EU institutions, at the EU national level in all 27 Member States and across the region including Russia Drafting memoranda, submissions and position papers, interfacing with governmental officials, negotiation of joint positions with other associations and sectors, in particular, on the Copyright, E-Commerce, Enforcement, Telecoms/Privacy, Orphan Works Directives, in Brussels; and, in Member States during national implementation. Providing strategic advice on legislative policy. MANAGEMENT: As Deputy MD involved in the overall management of the MPA Brussels operation.
Preparing Memoranda on Russian Federation Legislation (Company, Intellectual Property, Insurance and Private International Law) with reference to EU Law.
Drafted/Negotiated Actors' Contracts, Personal Releases, Location Agreements; Negotiated with Screen Actors Guild; Advised on legal issues during the making of a Feature Film.
Worked on legal issues related to alternative dispute resolution