Expertise/Tech &
Digital
Tech & Digital
At the forefront of tech developments
Our Digital group consists of a multi-disciplinary team that focuses on global tech firms, significant digital platforms and other major players in data-heavy industries. Our different expertise groups spanning Digital Platforms, Fintech, Industrial Tech and Venture Capital, work together to offer clients a well-rounded proposition covering various topics, such as:
Strategic boardroom advice; Data Privacy & Cybersecurity; Mass Claims; Consumer Protection; Artificial Intelligence; Competition & Regulation; Intellectual property; Media law; Internal investigations; Enforcement actions; Foreign Direct Investment; M&A and funding
We understand the opportunities and the risks associated with the platform economy and help our digital clients to navigate this dynamic and fast-paced landscape.
Our recent track record, advising:
- Just Eat Takeaway in all M&A and competition aspects relating to its acquisition of Delivery Hero in Germany, its merger with Just Eat and its acquisition of Grubhub in the US.
- Salesforce as lead counsel in the first mass damage claim based on the new regulatory regimes for class actions under both EU privacy law and Dutch civil law. The claim vehicle was declared inadmissible by the District Court of Amsterdam.
- AirBnB in its defence against civil class actions in the Netherlands in relation to the alleged unlawful double charging of service costs.
- Booking.com in proceedings against German hotels in relation to price parity clauses.
- A leading sales platform in a global trademark dispute.
Contact
Helen Gornall
Partner
Tobias Cohen Jehoram
Partner
Axel Arnbak
Partner
Geert Potjewijd
Partner
Jaap Barneveld
Partner
Related expertise
Venture CapitalFinancial Institutions & FintechRecent Matters
6 December 2024
DataSnipper acquires AI-native document management platform UpLink
DataSnipper, the intelligent automation platform transforming audit and finance, successfully completed the acquisition of UpLink. UpLink is an AI-native document management platform designed for audit and accounting teams. Established in 2022, UpLink integrates advanced machine learning into the document workflow to automate and streamline the review of documents, dramatically speeding up processes that traditionally take hours or even days. This acquisition follows DataSnipper's recent USD 100 million Series B funding, led by Index Ventures, which valued DataSnipper at USD 1 billion.
6 December 2024De Brauw advises Parcom on its acquisition of Robin Radar
De Brauw advises Parcom on its acquisition of Robin Radar, a leading developer of radar systems specialised in detecting and tracking small flying objects.
6 December 2024De Brauw advises Richemont on its agreement to sell YOOX Net-a-Porter to Mytheresa
De Brauw is advising Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods group, on its agreement to sell YOOX Net-a-Porter S.p.A (“YNAP”) to Mytheresa to create a leading, global, multi-brand digital luxury group.
Industrial Tech
Our Industrial Tech Group is a subset of our Digital group and consists of a multidisciplinary group that aims to consolidate our vast experience working for tech-heavy industrial clients with a focus on:
- Arbitration in tech-focused disputes
- Pan-European and cross border patent litigation in pharma, life sciences, telecoms and consumer goods markets
- UPC litigation with a focused cross expertise and international team
- IP contacting and licensing, joint ventures and IP heavy M&A
Our recent track record includes:
- Advising a client in the construction sector in major FRAND proceedings
- Representing a FMCG client in high stake litigation including questions of competition and patent law, resulting in a successful complaint before the French Competition Authority.
- Advising a technology client on the disentanglement of one of its major business units as well as advising on the sale of that division
Insights
17 December 2024
FRAND developments in the Unified Patent Court: where do we stand?
On 22 November 2024, in a case between Panasonic and OPPO, the Mannheim Local Division (LD) of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) handed down the first ever full-fledged substantive decision on the licensing of standard essential patents (SEPs) on Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) terms. The UPC had already dealt with FRAND cases in the context of procedural orders. Below we provide a brief overview of these developments, which are relevant to both SEP holders and implementers.
22 November 2024European Court of Justice to rule on geo-blocking and VPN use in Anne Frank copyright case
On 8 November, the Dutch Supreme Court formulated the questions it will refer to the European Court of Justice in a case between Anne Frank Fonds and our clients, Anne Frank Stichting, KNAW and the Belgian association VOOHT. The case addresses the tension between the internet's global reach and its national treatment under copyright law. The central issue is whether the publication of a work on a website in a country where the work has fallen into the public domain constitutes a "communication to the public" – as defined in Article 3(1) of the Copyright Directive – in a country where copyrights are held if access to the website is restricted via state-of-the-art geo-blocking measures, given that users may circumvent these measures by using certain VPN or proxy services.
24 October 2024Sustainability claims: managing regulatory and other risks as intolerance for greenwashing grows
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives are now critical drivers for companies – there is no getting around it. Companies often make significant ESG efforts. But when they wish to – or have to – communicate about these efforts, a growing web of regulations becomes relevant. This, coupled with increasingly active authorities who are on the look-out for greenwashing practices, means that it can be hard to establish what is, and what is not, allowed or required. Below, we will summarise the state of play and also look ahead.