Thijs van Aerde
Advocaat | Counsel
Languages
Dutch
English
German
French
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Thijs specialises in Supreme Court litigation, as well as representing clients before the European Court of Justice and the lower Dutch courts. Since Thijs joined Houthoff in 2006, he has litigated more than 200 cases before the Dutch Supreme Court and other Dutch courts. Thijs focuses on issues related to intellectual property law, human rights and procedural law matters. Thijs is a Panelist for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In this capacity, he renders decisions in domain name disputes under the Dispute Resolution Regulations for .nl Domain Names.
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"One client says: 'Thijs van Aerde is amazingly strong at understanding very complex cases, as well as at focusing on the throughline and translating it into understandable and clear legal wording'.”Chambers Global & Europe, Intellectual Property (2024 Edition) -
Leading IndividualLegal 500, Trade marks, copyrights and design rights (2024 Edition)
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“Thijs van Aerde recently represented multinational IT company HP Inc in Supreme Court proceedings against a class action claim. The outfit also distinguishes itself with its expertise in the plant variety sector.”IAM Patent 1000, Intellectual Property (2023 Edition)
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"One client mentioned: 'Thijs van Aerde is communicative, independent and ready to summarise and explain things'."Chambers Global & Europe, Intellectual Property (2023 Edition)
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RecommendedChambers Global & Europe, Intellectual Property: General - Mostly Trade Mark/Copyright (2023 Edition)
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Leading IndividualLegal 500, Trade marks, copyrights and design rights (2023 Edition)
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"One client said: 'Thijs van Aerde is our preferred Supreme Court lawyer'."Legal 500, Trade marks, copyrights and design rights (2023 Edition)
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“I am impressed with his exceptional level of perseverance, his analytical and research skills, his communication and his good judgement.”Chambers Global & Europe, Intellectual Property: General - Mostly Trade Mark/Copyright (2022 Edition)
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Leading IndividualLegal 500, Trade marks, copyrights and design rights (2022 Edition)
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“Thijs van Aerde is responsive and a great sparring partner in the Supreme Court matters. He understands the needs of the client and is committed to integrate those needs in the approach to be chosen.”Legal 500, Trade marks, copyrights and design rights (2022 Edition)
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“Thijs van Aerde stands out for being an excellent litigator in IP-matters. He is nationally and internationally renowned for his work as a lawyer in front of the Dutch Supreme Court. But he is also a good and solid IP-lawyer in cases in first instance that can be brought in front of the lower Dutch courts.”Legal 500, Trade marks, copyrights and design rights (2022 Edition)
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RecommendedLegal 500, Patents (2022 Edition)
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RecommendedLegal 500, Media and Entertainment (2022 Edition)
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“His meticulous manner is remarked upon by clients, one saying that ‘he does his homework well and thoroughly.’”Chambers Global & Europe, Intellectual Property: General - Mostly Trade Mark/Copyright (2021 Edition)
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“Thijs is easy to communicate with (he does not overcomplicate matters) and has delivered excellent results for my client. Very happy with his services.”Legal 500, Trade marks, copyrights and design rights (2021 Edition)
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“Thijs van Aerde is a very knowledgeable and experienced IP litigator before the Dutch Supreme Court. He is strategic, analytical but at the same time very pragmatic. He delivers excellent work and has an impressive track record.”Legal 500, Trade marks, copyrights and design rights (2021 Edition)
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RecommendedLegal 500, Media and Entertainment (2021 Edition)
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“Thijs van Aerde is best known for his work before the supreme court.”Legal 500, Patents (2021 Edition)
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“Thijs van Aerde is a great sparring partner and is highly recommended on cases before the Dutch Supreme Court.”Legal 500, Trade marks, copyrights and design rights (2021 Edition)
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Up and ComingChambers Global & Europe, Intellectual Property: General - Mostly Trade Mark/Copyright (2020 Edition)
Thijs publishes regularly and also lectures on intellectual property law and litigation in IP cases. He is an editor of the professional journal Copyright, a board member of the Dutch Association of IP Litigation Lawyers (VIEPA), a member of the Dutch Association of Civil Cassation Lawyers (VCCA), the Dutch Association for Procedural Law (NVvP), the Benelux Association for Trademark and Design Law (BMM) and the Dutch Group of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI).
He was also mentioned as one of the Recommended Individuals in the Netherlands by IAM Patent 1000: "Thijs van Aerde is one of the most well-known Supreme Court litigators in the country, with an established track record that proves he knows how to win."
He was also mentioned as one of the Recommended Individuals in the Netherlands by IAM Patent 1000: "Thijs van Aerde is one of the most well-known Supreme Court litigators in the country, with an established track record that proves he knows how to win."
Qualifications & Experience
- LL.M. Law & ICT (University of Groningen)
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Represented the Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW) in a dispute concerning the domain name rdwtellerrapport.nl. The disputed domain name led to a website offering alleged RDW odometer reports, falsely suggesting that the website was affiliated with RDW.
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Represented Brazilian multinational petroleum company Petrobras, as it sought the transfer of the domain name petrobrasbv.nl. The disputed domain name led to a fraudulent website mimicking Petrobras' official website.
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Represented an individual, in a UDRP proceeding, who became the victim of a fraudulent domain name registration of his personal name and trademark. The disputed domain name led to a website aimed at committing identity theft.
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Represented telecom provider T-Mobile Netherlands against a former agent of T-Mobile in a landmark case on agency law before the Supreme Court and the referral Amsterdam Appeal Court. After the Supreme Court set the rules for calculating the due goodwill fee after termination of an agency agreement, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal decided on the goodwill fee due in this specific matter.
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Early 2017, Profile launced a campaign in which it alleged that 'Profile Brand Service' (Profile Merkonderhoud) was much cheaper (up to 28%) than the service of the authorised repairers. It did not use and trademark rights of car manufacturers.
Again, Houthoff acted on behalf of 18 car manufacturers and made an end to the Profile campaign, as Profile was unable to demonstrate that it was always much cheaper than the authorised repairers.
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Successfully representing Rotterdam's Erasmus University Medical Centre, one of the largest and most authoritative scientific University Medical Centres in Europe, in summary proceedings before the Rotterdam interim injunction judge against a spin-off company about the licensing and development of software for laboratory information management and the early detection of hospital-acquired infections (HAI's).
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Succesfully representing Rotterdam's Erasmus University Medical Center, one of the largest and most authoritative scientific University Medical Centers in Europe, and Erasmus University in summary proceedings before the Rotterdam interim injunction judge against a spin-off company about the licensing and development of software for laboratory information management and the early detection of hospital-acquired infections (HAI's).
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Successfully representing Ryanair in litigation before the Dutch Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice against PR Aviation and their online booking website Wegolo which also sells tickets for Ryanair flights. The ECJ ruled that a maker of a database which is not protected by copyright or database right, may impose contractual limitations on the use of that database. The ECJ has referred the case back to the Dutch Supreme Court.
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Successfully representing Pictoright, the Dutch author’s rights organisation for visual creators, in copyright litigation against Allposters before both the Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice.
