Copyright law and privacy

The last two parts of “L’architecte” are devoted to copyright protection and protection of privacy and personal data. Copyright and more broadly the issue of intellectual property are subjects that are regularly in the spotlight. They relate as much to works of art and to the train station in Guillemins, creation of Santiago Calatrava, as well as they do to the assembly-line produced single family dwellings in our countrysides. The various provisions related to copyright and the conflicts between the copyright holder and the owner of the building, in particular the moral right of the architect versus the property right of the principal, and the right to the image of the goods are analysed in detail by the authors. Finally, the last part of the book is related to privacy and deals with professional secrecy, the field of application of legislation on protection of privacy with respect to the architects’ activities and, last but not least, the various regulations that must be observed when dealing with the personal data of clients and collaborators, amongst others.

The work reviews a fairly complete panorama of the architect’s profession as regards Belgian law. The ink for this second edition had scarcely dried when the authors started thinking about the next version in which they will develop, in particular, issues of copyright and intellectual property in the context of new technologies in constant evolution or issues and difficulties that are presented in the context of forensic examinations. “L’architecte” targets practitioners of immovable law, company lawyers, consultancy firms, companies and, of course, architects.