Chambers Europe 2011
Kennedy Van der Laan's TMT practice remains robust, despite
the departure of Coen Drion for the Supreme Court. Recent IT work
has included developing an automated drafting tool for purchasing
agreements for Allianz, a worldwide data protection project for
ING, and the introduction of an ERP system for NedTrain. It also
continues to act for long-standing client Microsoft. On the
telecoms side, the lawyers represented UPC in its appeal against
decisions by OPTA. In media, the team advised newspapers De
Volksrant and Het Parool on contentious matters, and represented
Greenpeace and other clients in litigation against Trafigura. Other
media clients include MTV Networks BV, Endemol and Radio 538.
Sources say: "Its lawyers are really clever and know what
they are talking about." "The firm has an excellent name
for IT and a well-deserved reputation at the top."
Key individuals:
Patrick Wit heads the IT department and is recognised as an
outsourcing specialist who also has expertise in
telecommunications. Hester De Vries is "one of the biggest
names in privacy and data protection," say sources. She took
the lead on work for Trans Link Systems on a data protection
project relating to e-ticketing for public transport. Joost
Linnemann is the firm's managing partner and among the best IT
lawyers in the Netherlands, peers say. Jens van den Brink is making
a name for himself as an expert in freedom-of-speech issues.
Legal 500 2011
"Kennedy Van der Laan represented Sanoma in a landmark case
regarding the protection of journalistic sources, and continued to
advise Endemol/Big Brother on various matters. Other clients
include Apple, Yahoo!, and FremantleMedia."
Media
Kennedy Van der Laan has a well-developed and varied media
practice. Our clients include Dutch and foreign television and
radio stations (both public and commercial), various
journalists' associations, television production companies,
other entertainment content providers (including mobile operators),
newspapers, publishers, internet media and internet providers.
Roughly speaking our media activities can be divided into:
- Press Law: Kennedy Van der Laan regularly acts on behalf of
clients in freedom of speech cases (both in court and before
the Council for Journalism) and in cases concerning the
Government Information Public Access Act.
- Issues that arise from the specific regulation of the media
market, in particular issues related to the Media Act and the
Media Decree, such as advice on the rules for public and
commercial broadcasters, including compliance with advertising
and sponsorship rules, allocation of frequencies (e.g. FM and
TETRA) and procedures for access to the public broadcasting
system and cable networks.
- Media-specific issues related to intellectual property
rights, including advice on the use of content on the internet
and the relevant boundaries of copyright, admissibility of
various types of hyperlinks, entertainment law issues such as
image and broadcasting rights, sponsorship contracts, rights
issues concerning program formats or the collection of dues by
rights organizations.
- Other internet-specific problems, including liability of
internet intermediaries and notice & takedown, on-line
advertisements, internet search engines, cyber crime, domain
name disputes.
- Issues in the field of advertising law: does an
advertisement meet the rules on misleading and comparative
advertising?
- Advice and litigation in the field of games of chance.
The media group also assists the media in, amongst other things,
more general contractual issues, with the purchase and use of
content and in the event of media-specific mergers, acquisitions
and joint ventures.
Telecommunications, media and internet are not separated
technologies anymore. The corresponding markets also show a
fast-growing overlap. Therefore, clients want to work with legal
advisors who are familiar with all sectors. The attorneys of
Kennedy Van der Laan meet this requirement and are able to give
innovative - but always practically applicable - legal advice on
the basis of their knowledge of the market and technologies.
Download track record Media