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Experience and career history

Dieter Paemen's practice focuses on European and Belgian antitrust law and in intellectual property law. He has well over a decade of experience advising clients in European and Belgian merger clearance procedures, cartel investigations, and abuse of dominance investigations, as well as on licensing and distribution agreements and copyright and unfair competition issues. He has acted for complainants and defendants as well as interested third parties. Dieter has particular experience in the information technology, retail and manufacturing industries.  He appeared in proceedings before the European Commission, the EU courts in Luxembourg, and the national competition authorities of Member States including the Belgian Competition Council.  He has also represented clients in relation to legislative advocacy before the EU institutions in relation to antitrust and intellectual property matters.

Examples of his experience include successfully representing an IT company in relation to various acquisitions before the European Commission and the General Court in Luxembourg, an airport holding in relation to a merger clearance before the Belgian Competition Authority, a software provider in relation to distribution, pricing and licensing issues,  a security solutions provider as a defendant before the Commission in an abuse of dominance proceeding, various complainants in the landmark Microsoft EU antitrust case, an internet services provider in relation to legislative advocacy regarding proposed EU legislation, and a manufacturing company in relation to cartel proceedings before the European Commission, the General Court and the Court of Justice of the EU.

Before joining Clifford Chance in 2004, Dieter worked on intellectual property and competition law issues at a Washington DC-based intellectual property boutique firm and the Brussels office of a major US law firm for seven years.

University of Leuven Law Faculty 1995
George Washington University Law School 1996
Admitted to Brussels Bar 1997
Admitted to New York Bar 2000
Joined Clifford Chance 2004
Counsel since 2007

Speaks Dutch, English, French and Spanish