New
New
AC&R
Philippe Sarfati

Expert and Partner in Intellectual Property and Media Law

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

  • 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.”

  • 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.”

  • Chambers & Partners

    AC&R is recommended in Band 2 for both ‘Intellectual Property: General – Mostly Trade Mark/Copyright’ and ‘TMT: Media’.

  • 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.”

  • 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
  • Media

  • Trademarks

  • Copyrights

  • Design

  • Zondag Ontwikkeling / AD

    Zondag Ontwikkeling / AD

    Judgment by the District Court of Rotterdam regarding an unlawful publication by newspaper AD.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Dell and HP / Thuiskopie

    Dell and HP / 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.

  • 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.

  • Vincent TV / plaintiff

    Vincent TV / plaintiff

    Judgment of the District Court of Amsterdam on copyright ownership of a TV format.

  • 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.

  • Superman / Superbrains

    Superman / Superbrains

    Decision by the EUIPO Board of Appeal denying registration for a logo mimicking the iconic S-in-Shield.

  • 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.

  • Novagraaf / Nova Holding

    Novagraaf / Nova Holding

    Judgment by the Benelux Court of Justice (Second Chamber) in appeal opposition proceedings between two legal service providers.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Unilever / Technopharma

    Unilever / Technopharma

    Judgment by the Court of Appeal of The Hague concerning trademark infringement of one of Unilever's worldwide beauty brands.

  • 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.

  • Volvo / GTPS

    Volvo / GTPS

    Enforcement measures following evidence seizure against a spare parts dealer selling counterfeit truck filters.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • AMC / Plaintiff

    AMC / Plaintiff

    Judgment by the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam concerning authorship and plagiarism in scientific research.

  • 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

Get in touch.

info@acr.amsterdam