Ulys - cabinet d'avocats franco-belge au service de la création et de l'innovation

What Ulys - cabinet d'avocats franco-belge au service de la création et de l'innovation does

Ulys is a Franco-Belgian law firm (SCRL-structured cooperative) founded in 1994 by Etienne Wery, specializing exclusively in technology and innovation law. The firm operates from two offices — Brussels (Watermael-Boitsfort, Belgium) and Paris (France) — and serves enterprise clients across nine specialized practice areas: IT contracts, GDPR/privacy, e-health/e-pharmacy, intellectual property and media, blockchain/e-money, e-commerce/competition, litigation/arbitration, Paris-Brussels commerce, and IT criminality. Its core service offering consists of professional legal counsel, contract drafting and negotiation, regulatory compliance advisory, and litigation representation for clients in banking, healthcare, media, e-payment, distribution, and technology sectors.

Ulys operates two proprietary digital products that function as both client tools and marketing assets. The first is GDPR-expert.eu, a free public platform allowing users to compare GDPR provisions against the 1995 directive and national transposition laws, including synthetic analysis of practical issues. The second is droit-technologie.org, a legal news portal created in 1997 that has become a francophone reference for technology and law content. A third sub-brand, IT & IP Litigation, operates as a specialized referral service. The firm also maintains partnerships with intellectual property advisors and patent agents to support trademark and patent strategy work.

The business model is traditional professional services: direct engagement with enterprise clients, with fees negotiated per matter based on complexity and scope (no publicly disclosed pricing or billing rates). Client acquisition is driven primarily by thought leadership — academic publications, conference participation, and the 30-year reputation of the firm as a pioneer in innovation law — rather than conventional sales or marketing channels. The team is small and specialized, comprising a partner, an associate, support staff, and external collaborators. Ulys has won industry recognition including "Best TMT Firm" and "Lawyer of the Year" awards, though specific awarding bodies are not disclosed.

Name

Ulys - cabinet d'avocats franco-belge au service de la création et de l'innovation

Legal name

SCRL ULYS

Website

https://ulys.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ulys is a Franco-Belgian boutique law firm founded in 1994, specializing in technology and innovation law with offices in Brussels and Paris. It serves enterprise clients across nine practice areas including IT contracts, GDPR, IP, e-health, and blockchain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialized Legal Services — Technology and Innovation Law

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Offices of Lawyers (54111), Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHALAG

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Research, Analytics & Expert Services

SECONDARYBPAEAPAE

eDiscovery, Litigation Support & Legal Hold

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) & Legal Tech

Keywords

• Technology law services
• Intellectual property law
• Data protection legal
• IT contract advisory
• Innovation legal counsel

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels (Watermael-Boitsfort)

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal services and counsel: Professional legal services including contract drafting, negotiation, litigation representation, and legal advisory in technology law domains. The firm provides services for complex IT contracts, data protection compliance, intellectual property protection, and regulatory matters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ulys is a Franco-Belgian law firm providing specialized legal counsel and litigation in technology and innovation law for enterprise clients. Its practice spans nine domains including IT contracts, GDPR and data privacy, intellectual property and media, e-health, blockchain and electronic money, e-commerce and competition, cross-border Paris-Brussels commerce, and IT criminality. The firm supplements its advisory work with proprietary online resources (GDPR-expert.eu and droit-technologie.org) and an IT & IP Litigation referral service.

Product overview

Ulys is a Franco-Belgian law firm specializing in technology and innovation law, offering legal services across multiple specialized domains. The firm operates two main online products: GDPR-expert.eu (a free online tool for understanding the EU General Data Protection Regulation with regulatory comparisons and synthetic analysis) and Droit & Technologies (droit-technologie.org), a legal technology portal launched in 1997. The firm's core offering consists of legal advisory and litigation services in areas including IT contracts, intellectual property, e-health, blockchain, e-commerce, and privacy law, with offices in Brussels and Paris serving clients across France and Belgium for over 30 years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GDPR.expert: A tool developed by Ulys to learn more about the new EU regulation on personal data. The site allows users to select any provision of the new regulation and view it alongside intermediate versions, the corresponding 1995 directive text, and national transposition laws.
• Droit & Technologies
• IT & IP Litigation

Products and services

• GDPR-expert.eu A free, publicly accessible online tool developed by Ulys providing comparative analysis of GDPR provisions, mapping each provision to previous versions, the 1995 directive text, and national transposition laws, with synthetic commentary on issues (where do we come from, where are we going, likely application difficulties).
• Droit & Technologies (droit-technologie.org) A francophone internet portal created by Etienne Wery in 1997, serving as a technology law reference providing the latest news and exclusive dossiers on digital law.
• IT & IP Litigation referral service A specialized referral service focused on IT and intellectual property litigation operated alongside the Ulys brand.
• IT Contracts and Computing Law practice Legal practice advising on the drafting, negotiation, and review of complex IT contracts, software licensing, cloud computing, SaaS/IaaS/PaaS agreements, maintenance contracts, and source code protection for enterprise clients.
• GDPR and data privacy practice Legal practice advising on GDPR implementation, data protection strategies, cross-border data flows, privacy policies, and related compliance matters.
• E-health and E-pharmacy practice Legal practice advising on healthcare IT contracts, medical data compliance, telemedicine regulations, and online pharmacy licensing.
• Intellectual Property and Media practice Legal practice advising on intellectual property protection and enforcement, including copyright, trademarks, patents, database rights, and media-related disputes involving privacy, image rights, and press freedom.
• Blockchain and E-money practice Legal practice advising on blockchain and cryptocurrency regulation, electronic money licensing, electronic payment platforms, and fintech compliance.
• E-commerce and Competition practice Legal practice advising on e-commerce regulations, competition law, consumer protection, and online marketplace compliance.
• Litigation and Arbitration practice Legal practice providing dispute resolution, litigation representation, and arbitration in technology and innovation law matters.
• IT Criminality practice Legal practice advising on cybercrime and IT-related criminal law matters.
• Paris-Brussels cross-border commerce practice Legal practice advising on cross-border commercial matters between France and Belgium, leveraging dual-bar admission.

Quantifiable outcome

• GDPR compliance support for organizations transitioning from 1995 directive to new regulation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Intellectual property advisorssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerUlys works in collaboration with intellectual property advisors for trademark filing and protection services, as well as patent agents for patent strategy definition, particularly for software patentability evaluation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• DLA Piper: Global law firm with extensive TMT, IP, and data protection practices across Europe. Comparable for large cross-border technology mandates where international reach is required.
• Linklaters: Magic-circle firm with a leading technology, media, and telecommunications practice. Comparable for the largest enterprise tech-law mandates and EU regulatory matters.
• Covington & Burling: International firm with a leading tech, data, and privacy practice advising on EU regulation. Comparable for cross-border tech-law matters where clients seek EU + global coverage.
• Hogan Lovells: Global law firm with a prominent TMT and data protection practice, including significant Brussels presence. Comparable for clients needing large-firm scale on EU tech regulation matters.

Direct peers

• Bird & Bird: European-headquartered law firm deeply specialized in TMT, IP, and technology law with multiple offices across the EU. Most directly comparable peer given shared focus on technology-driven sectors and similar client profile of tech, media, and regulated enterprises.
• Osborne Clarke: International law firm with a strong technology, media, and digital business practice across Europe. Comparable in its emphasis on serving digital businesses, tech companies, and regulated industries.
• Strelia: Belgian law firm specializing in IP, IT, and technology law. Comparable as a similarly-sized Belgium-based competitor in the same TMT niche, directly competing for Belgian tech-law mandates.

Regional players

• Eubelius: Leading full-service Belgian law firm with strong IP/IT capabilities. Comparable as a Belgium-headquartered competitor addressing similar enterprise clients on technology and IP matters, though broader in scope than Ulys.
• ALYSEO: Belgian law firm with technology and IP practice. Comparable as a Belgium-based boutique peer competing in similar tech-law segments within the same regional market.

Emerging players

• WAVESTONE: French-headquartered consulting firm with strong digital, cyber, and data protection advisory practices. Comparable as a Franco-Belgian provider of digital regulation compliance and advisory services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ulys-law-firm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ulys - cabinet d'avocats franco-belge au service de la création et de l'innovation