The Legal 500

Brinkhof’s patent litigation team is led by Richard Ebbink, who has been acting for Sony Mobile, Ciba Vision and Honeywell. Peter Burgers, who gives ‘incisive advice, taking good account of technical, strategic and commercial aspects’, recently defended Occlutech in a case, which was brought by AGA Medical and reached the Supreme Court, alleging that its European patent for intravascular medical devices is infringed by Occlutech’s product. Kurt Stöpetie leads on other IP litigation and recently advised Cisco on trade mark matters.

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek’s ‘high-quality’ practice continues to advise Sara Lee in a patent dispute brought by Nestlé and is representing Procter & Gamble in litigation regarding its Gilette brand. Jan Pieter Hustinx is ‘an excellent strategist, who provides creative solutions’ on patent matters. Ilja Morée rejoined the firm as counsel from an in-house role at AstraZeneca and is particularly recommended for trade mark matters. Koen Limperg is ‘very proactive and keeps an eye on developments that may affect a client’s business’. Gertjan Kuipers is also recommended.

Hoyng Monegier LLP has ‘a flexible, creative and intelligent team with a practical approach to litigation’. Its highly regarded IP litigators include Willem Hoyng and the ‘very good’ Simon Dack, who focuses on life sciences patent litigation and recently acted for MedImmune in a dispute with Novartis over Lucentis. Bart van den Broek is ‘a tough and intelligent litigator, fights hard, and has a no-nonsense approach’. He recently represented Rovi in patent infringement proceedings against Ziggo. Trade mark and copyright specialist Joris van Manen successfully represented BREIN in an online infringement case against telecoms operators.

Bird & Bird’s ‘knowledgeable, responsive and no-nonsense’ IP team handles a range of contentious and non-contentious patent, trade mark and copyright matters. It continued to co-ordinate European patent litigation for Nestlé against Sara Lee and defended Shell against a trade mark infringement claim brought by BP. The team also advises Netherlands Public Broadcasting on copyright issues, and other clients include Teva, PostNL, Actavis and Lebara. Wouter Pors heads the practice.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is ‘very experienced in patent litigation, and always puts together good and balanced teams’. Department head Rutger Kleemans, who is ‘very hands-on, responsive and a strategic thinker’, acted for Apple Inc in its patent dispute with Samsung and also represented a number of cable broadcasters in the Pirate Bay copyright case. Patent litigator Peter Hendrick, who has ‘a great feel for the courtroom, and is quick on his feet’, advised Novartis on potential litigation matters. Hub Harmeling handles trade mark litigation and prosecution.

Hogan Lovells International LLP acts on cross-border matters for clients including Disney, Sanofi, Nintendo and Chanel. Klaas Bisschop, who adopts ‘a very business and solution-oriented approach’, worked with Bert Oosting on co-ordinating litigation on behalf of Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Marc Wallheimer advises BDO on trade mark oppositions and litigation.

Klos Morel Vos & Schaap is best known for its work in soft IP matters, where its clients include Red Bull, G-Star and L’Oréal. However, the practice has been increasingly focusing on patent matters, and Paul Reeskamp represented Novartis in litigation against MedImmune over Lucentis and also acted for Abbott Laboratories in an antibodies patent infringement case against Johnson & Johnson. Sven Klos and Jacqueline Schaap are among the other key contacts.

NautaDutilh’s team is ‘responsive, commercial and willing to make a judgement call’. Seasoned litigator Charles Gielen is ‘a very safe pair of hands’ and good with commercial strategy. Anne Marie Verschuur gained a favourable judgement for LEGO in a trade mark, design and copyright case against Banbao Europe. The team also acted for Revillon Chocolatier in a trade mark shape case against Trianon. In patent litigation, John Allen advised Ziggo in an infringement case brought by Rovi and in litigation against BREIN. Allen’s ‘delivery in court is impressive’.

Simmons & Simmons LLP raised its profile through its representation of Samsung in patent litigation against Apple Inc. The team has also been representing Bayer in proceedings against Sandoz regarding its blockbuster drug Yasmin, acting for Microsoft in a patent infringement dispute over its MS Word software, and also advised Bacardi & Company on trade mark opposition proceedings. Bas Berghuis van Woortman and of counsel András Kupecz are ‘excellent attorneys’.

BarentsKrans N.V. has been representing various generic pharmaceuticals manufacturers in patent infringement proceedings. Clients include Mylan, Grohe, Neurim Pharmaceuticals and Boehringer Ingelheim. Practice head Marleen van den Horst focuses on patent litigation, while newly promoted partner Jaap Bremer provides ‘a practical approach, with the capability to translate difficult subjects into pragmatic points’ on soft IP matters.

CMS’ recent work has focused on trade mark and copyright law. Highlights included acting for Out of the Blue in copyright litigation over the Rubik’s Cube product. Other clients include Audi, UEFA and Birkenstock. Willem Hoorneman is the key contact.

DLA Piper has been handling copyright and trade mark infringement, parallel import and anti-counterfeiting matters. Representative clients include owners of global consumer brands such as Bacardi, Converse and Tommy Hilfiger. Practice head Niels Mulder focuses on co-ordinating cross-border litigation.

Kennedy Van der Laan has a strong focus on acting for technology, fashion and consumer goods clients. Maarten Schut advises Nike on anti-counterfeiting and parallel trade actions, and Alfred Meijboom recently defended retailer C&A against trade mark infringement allegations brought by G-Star.

SOLV Advocaten is a respected name for trade mark and copyright matters, with clients including Fred Perry, Specsavers and the Dutch Olympic Committee. Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm represented Sanoma in a successful copyright infringement claim.

Van Doorne recently acted for charity lottery operator Novamedia in a cross-border infringement dispute and advised the Karl Lagerfeld group on trade mark licensing and infringements. Remco van Leeuwen’s team is ‘professional and pleasant to work with. The lawyers are very practical and see the bigger picture’.

AKD’s broad IP practice recently acted for defendants in trade mark cases brought by Converse and Red Bull, and department head Peter Claassen represented Allposters in a copyright infringement dispute against a subsidiary company of Art.com. Trade mark specialist Huib Berendschot is ‘creative and quick to take action’.

Senior associate Frits Gerritzen leads Allen & Overy LLP’s IP team, which handles litigation, transactions and other advisory matters. Clients include AEGON, SBS, Primark and Liberty Global.

Media and entertainment firm Bousie Advocaten advises on copyright and trade mark matters. The key contact is name partner Hans Bousie, who advises clients from the publishing, music and fashion sectors.

IP firm Hofhuis Alkema Groen provides ‘excellent’ service and advice on copyright and trade mark matters. Key clients include Dutch press agency ANP, anti-piracy watchdog BREIN and product comparison website Independer. Adonna Alkema is ‘intellectually bright, pragmatic and, most important of all, delivers when needed’. Arnout Groen has ‘all the knowledge needed for complex internet infringement cases’.

Hoogenraad & Haak, advertising + IP advocaten’s founding partner Maarten Haak leads a well-regarded trade mark and copyright practice, which has a niche focus on the advertising and media industries as well as a broader remit. Clients include Albert Heijn, IKEA, Publicis and AXA.

Houthoff Buruma co-ordinated IP litigation between the brewer Bavaria and its rival Bayerischer Brauerbund regarding the trade mark registration of a protected geographical indication. The team also represented Ajinomoto in a Supreme Court patent case. Bas Le Poole focuses on copyright and trade mark matters.

Ploum Lodder Princen’s Willem Leppink is ‘very knowledgeable in the area of anti-counterfeiting, an expert in his field, attuned to commercial needs and constraints’. The team is also recommended for trade mark matters, where its clients include Honda, SanDisk, Harley-Davidson, Rovio, and Samsung Benelux.

Vondst Advocaten N.V specialises in biotech patents but also advises on other patent, trade mark and copyright matters. Otto Swens heads the patents and technology group, Tjeerd Overdijk leads on design and copyright disputes, and Silvie Wertwijn handles trade mark work.