We are AC&R, Advocates for Creativity and Reputation. AC&R is an Amsterdam-based litigation and advisory firm, dedicated to media, trademarks, copyrights, and design.
Profile
Our core business is the representation of the interests of major media companies and brand owners. We enjoy combining this with work for cultural institutions, creatives, and emerging innovators. We have the capacity to handle matters irrespective of how complex they may become.
Approach
We are accessible and straightforward. We work in small teams, assembled on the basis of expertise and cost considerations. Our aim is to be an effective translator of the law for our clients and of our clients’ interests for the courts.
AC&R is a merger of Le Poole Bekema and Hofhuis Alkema Groen.
Recommendations
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Legal 500
AC&R is ranked in Tier 1 for ‘Intellectual Property: Trademarks, Copyrights and Design Rights’. AC&R is also recommended for ‘Media and Entertainment’.
“The team is extraordinary in their field of expertise. They individually are the best in class when it comes to understanding the level playing field and together, they make an unbeatable team. Their approach is very human and informing, they use dialogue to come to the best strategy. The firm is inventive and the lawyers have the client’s importance in their best interest.”
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WTR 1000
Gold ranking for AC&R in WTR1000
“For over a decade, [Hofhuis Alkema Groen and Le Poole Bekema] have been securing and maximising brand protection for A-listers, providing sage counsel that considers all viable commercial opportunities, while also acting as staunch advocates in contentious proceedings. The [founding partners] continue this vein of excellence in their new outpost.”
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Chambers & Partners
AC&R is recommended in Band 2 for both ‘Intellectual Property: General – Mostly Trade Mark/Copyright’ and ‘TMT: Media’.
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Media Law International
AC&R is ranked in Tier 1.
“The partners have extensive experience in handling the most prominent and complicated soft IP matters in the Netherlands and Europe and have a strong track record in the Dutch Media industry. By joining forces, the team of 10 lawyers at AC&R is able to provide practical solutions (steering away from legal difficulty) where possible and cutting-edge legal advice (exploring the boundaries of the law) where needed.”
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IP Stars (Managing IP)
AC&R is ranked in Tier 1 for ‘Trade mark disputes’ and Tier 2 for ‘Copyright & related rights‘.
Expertise
- Media
- Trademarks
- Copyrights
- Design
- Moral rights
- Collecting
societies - Database
law - Neighbouring
rights - TV formats
- Plagiarism
- Social media
- Characters
- Information
law - Entertainment
law - Advertisement
law - Comparative
advertisement - Defamation
- Reputation
management - Titles
- Applied
art - Trade dress
- Design law
- Slavish
copying - Shape and
position marks - Counterfeit
- Parallel
trade - Invalidation and
revocation - Domain
names - Trade
names - Similarity
of signs - Referential
use
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Media
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Trademarks
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Copyrights
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Design
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Zondag Ontwikkeling / AD
Zondag Ontwikkeling / AD
Judgment by the District Court of Rotterdam regarding an unlawful publication by newspaper AD.
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Telegraaf / Crime journalist
Telegraaf / Crime journalist
Judgment by the District Court of Amsterdam on a defamation claim relating to a news article linking a crime journalist to the leaking of highly classified documents.
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Telegraaf / nominee Joke Smit Award
Telegraaf / nominee Joke Smit Award
Judgment by the District Court of Amsterdam regarding a news article containing accusations of sexual harassment by a nominee of a women’s emancipation award.
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Arla / Stichting even geen vlees
Arla / Stichting even geen vlees
Ruling by the Board of Appeal of the Dutch Advertising Committee on the marketing claim “climate neutral” on dairy products.
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CoBO / Bos Bros.
CoBO / Bos Bros.
Judgment by the District Court of Amsterdam regarding the enforcement of finance agreements relating to successful Dutch children's movies.
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GS Media / Sanoma
GS Media / Sanoma
Decision by the Supreme Court on the legal status of offering hyperlinks to content that is published on the internet without the consent of the rightsholder.
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Anne Frank Fund / Anne Frank Foundation
Anne Frank Fund / Anne Frank Foundation
Judgment by the District Court of Amsterdam on the territoriality of the internet and the obligations that the right of making available imposes on the use of Geolocation Software.
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SEKAM / de Staat
SEKAM / de Staat
Judgment by the District Court of The Hague regarding a collective action of film producers following statements by the minister on illegal downloads and the inadequate enforcement framework.
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AMP / SENA
AMP / SENA
Decision by the Supreme Court on the obligation of the collecting society for neighbouring rights to distribute funds on the basis of actual use.
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ABMD / Buma
ABMD / Buma
Decision by the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam on the obligation of collecting society to enforce against use of consumer streaming services in businesses like restaurants and bars.
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Thuiskopie
Thuiskopie
Decision by the Court of Appeal of The Hague on the legal status of music and video downloads in subscription services like Spotify and Netflix, and on the legal status of private copies in the cloud.
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Stobi / De Thuiskopie & the State
Stobi / De Thuiskopie & the State
Judgment by the District Court of The Hague rendering all private copying levies decrees from 2003 to 2015 unlawful in a collective action brought by producers and importers of leviable products.
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Vincent TV / plaintiff
Vincent TV / plaintiff
Judgment of the District Court of Amsterdam on copyright ownership of a TV format.
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Facebook / PvH
Facebook / PvH
Judgment by the District Court of Amsterdam on the obligations of Facebook with regard to advertisements on its platform infringing Tommy Hilfiger trademarks and copyrights.
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Superman / Superbrains
Superman / Superbrains
Decision by the EUIPO Board of Appeal denying registration for a logo mimicking the iconic S-in-Shield.
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Easycosmetic / Coty
Easycosmetic / Coty
Judgment by the Court of Appeal of The Hague on the use of trademarks advertising the resale of trademark-exhausted products.
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Novagraaf / Nova Holding
Novagraaf / Nova Holding
Judgment by the Benelux Court of Justice (Second Chamber) in appeal opposition proceedings between two legal service providers.
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Goud / Van Goud
Goud / Van Goud
Judgment by the Court of Appeal of The Hague regarding the likelihood of confusion when two law firms use similar trade names.
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Red Bull / IstanBull
Red Bull / IstanBull
Judgment by the District Court of The Hague on the use of a name for a steak house with an emphasis on the element Bull and the depiction of a red bull as a logo.
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Unilever / Technopharma
Unilever / Technopharma
Judgment by the Court of Appeal of The Hague concerning trademark infringement of one of Unilever's worldwide beauty brands.
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LB11 / Hennessy
LB11 / Hennessy
Judgment by the Supreme Court on the exhaustion of trademark rights for goods that were delivered in the EU with the intention to be exported outside the EU.
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Volvo / GTPS
Volvo / GTPS
Enforcement measures following evidence seizure against a spare parts dealer selling counterfeit truck filters.
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Swapfiets blue front tire
Swapfiets blue front tire
Registration by the EUIPO on the basis of the intrinsic distinctive character of a position mark for the service of providing bicycles on the basis of a subscription.
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Dr. Martens / Van Haren
Dr. Martens / Van Haren
Judgment by the Court of Appeal of The Hague on the validity and scope of protection of the Dr. Martens yellow stitch
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Louboutin / Van Haren
Louboutin / Van Haren
Judgment by the ECJ on whether marks that contain a colour can be considered as consisting exclusively of a shape that gives substantial value to the goods.
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Airwair / Van Haren
Airwair / Van Haren
Judgment by the Court of Appeal of The Hague on slavish copying of the famous Dr. Martens 1460 boot by retailer Van Haren.
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Dr. Martens / Topshop
Dr. Martens / Topshop
Judgment by the District Court of The Hague confirming copyright protection of the JADON boot and a lookalike by Topshop as an infringement thereof.
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Quist / Evides
Quist / Evides
Judgment by the District Court of Rotterdam on the copyrights and moral rights of Dutch well-known architect Wim Quist in respect of one of his signature buildings.
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Verheijen / Naturalis
Verheijen / Naturalis
Judgment by the District Court of The Hague ordering a construction stop of the €200mio expansion of the Naturalis Museum of Natural History on the basis of an architect’s moral rights.
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AMC / Plaintiff
AMC / Plaintiff
Judgment by the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam concerning authorship and plagiarism in scientific research.
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Ryanair / PR Aviation
Ryanair / PR Aviation
Judgment by the Court of Appeal of The Hague on contractual limitations to the use of a database by third parties, when the database is not protected on the basis of the 96/9 Directive.
People
- L Lawyer
- S Support Staff
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Support
Lis Bedaux
S -
Lawyer, Senior Associate
Rutger de Beer
L -
Lawyer, Partner
Anne Bekema
L -
Support
Dinand Bontje
S -
Lawyer, Partner
Laura Broers
L -
COO
Loretta Dashorst
S -
Lawyer, Partner
Arnout Groen
L -
Lawyer, Partner
Jesse Hofhuis
L -
Lawyer, Senior Associate
Ron Lamme
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Lawyer, Junior Associate
Pieter Lichtendahl
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Senior Associate
Georgina Nühn
L -
Lawyer, Junior Associate
Willemijn Oskam
L -
Lawyer, Associate
Claire Pilaar
L -
Support
Paula van Stratum
S -
Lawyer, Associate
Julie Visser
L