Ted Shapiro, a long-time copyright industry advocate in the European legal trenches for the Motion Picture Association, will leave at year’s end for a private law firm in Brussels.

Shapiro, the MPA’s head of legal for Europe, is a regular figure at World Intellectual Property Organization copyright meetings and legal events throughout Europe. He was at MPA for 16 years.

He will lead the first international office of UK media law firm Wiggin, the firm said in a release. The Brussels office was created “following client demand for pan-European copyright advice,” it said.

The new office will open in January. “Working with Wiggin’s London media specialists,” it said, “the Brussels office will advise on: Copyright/content protection issues affecting new/convergent media; E-Commerce/data protection/trade/consumer protection; [and] Content regulation/competition/state aid/tax.”

“Ted will work with us to ensure a smooth transition until his departure in January 2013 and we wish him – to use his own words – ‘peace, love and copyright!’,” said Chris Marcich, president and managing director for MPA EMEA. “During this time, he was involved in most of the major judicial and legislative developments affecting the copyright sector in Europe. Ted has had a tremendous impact.”

Wiggins clients include: BBC Worldwide, Bauer, BT, Channel 4, Condé Nast, Discovery, Disney, Endemol, FACT, HBO, Hodder & Stoughton, Ingenious, ITV, International Cricket Council, Manchester United FC, Marvel, MPA, Paramount Pictures, Party Gaming, Perform, PPL, Racing UK, Random House, Sony Columbia, Time Warner Books, Times Newspapers, Turf TV, Twentieth Century Fox, UEFA, UKTV, Universal, Virgin Media and Warner Bros.