Media
Our specialisms
Media law / Internet law / Freedom of speech / Free speech litigation / Intermediary liability law / Image rights / Privacy law (litigation) / Advertising law / Licencing agreements / Trademark & competition law / Fundamental rights litigation / Entertainment Law.
Every day new players and technology are changing the way content is created, distributed and shared. Spearheading our practice is the tense relationship between freedom of speech and privacy. This topic is increasingly recurring in today’s society, bringing a broad spectrum of issues such as guerrilla journalism, source confidentiality, recordings of private conversations, linking and online publications, online archives, handling news coverage about suspects and convicted people, claims for rectification, recall and damages.
We support traditional and new media companies with legal advice of all manner of disputes involving media companies from defamation and privacy complaints, to data protection, contempt and reporting restrictions issues.
We specialize in advising on media regulation. Especially cases with regard to becoming part of the public broadcasting system, advertising and sponsorship, video-on-demand services and public-private cooperation. Our experience has led to a position as a highly regarded team, with strength in litigation and proving its value through recent high-profile work regarding financial technology, media regulation, defamation, e-commerce and licensing.
We are especially renowned for our expertise in internet related litigation, defamation, copyright and media regulation. We've advised on complex and high-profile media litigation cases including several cases for social media companies on the position of intermediaries and are handling disputes concerning some of the biggest TV formats worldwide.
We work closely with in-house lawyers & board members and are trusted advisers to the largest organizations in the media sector. Clients include major tv and radio broadcasters, tv/film production companies, newspapers, magazines and book publishers, major social media companies, internet access providers and blogs, political parties and NGOs.
When expertise of other jurisdictions is required, we have access to over 150 law firms in 100 jurisdictions across the globe.
Market recognition
Chambers Europe 2020 - TMT: Media Band 1
what the team is known for
The media practice benefits from a varied clientele of publishers, newspapers, broadcasters and digital media companies to attract roles on a range of often highly-publicised disputes.
Notable practitioners
Clients describe Jens van den Brink as a "keen litigator and adviser." He maintains a broad media practice encompassing prominent regulatory litigation, documentary production and unlawful publication cases.
Christien Wildeman has extensive experience assisting Dutch publishers and newspapers with headline-grabbing unlawful publication disputes. She also handles misleading advertising disputes and media regulatory matters for leading players in the media and telecoms sector.
The Legal 500 EMEA 2019 - Industry focus: Media and entertainment - Tier 1
Kennedy Van der Laan 'has a full spectrum of media knowledge' and a 'clear understanding of ethical issues in media reporting and the EU regulations protecting press reporting'. Team head Jens Van den Brink 'is a smart negotiator and his strategic advice is outstanding. His team brings all aspects you might seek in a media desk. All are great to work with'. Emiel Jurjens is also well rated, especially on account of his track record of winning cases. Counsel Christien Wildeman acts for De Persgroep and is known for her defamation expertise. The team acted for NOS, RTL, and De Persgroep in proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights concerning access to state-held information on the MH17 plane crash.
The Legal 500 EMEA 2018 - Media and entertainment - Tier 1
The ‘no-nonsense’ team at Kennedy Van der Laan is led by Jens van den Brink, who along with counsel Christien Wildeman ‘dominates the Dutch media litigation landscape’. Defamation and internet-related litigation are particular strengths. De Persgroep and Facebook are longstanding clients; Vodafone-Ziggo is a recent client.
Chambers Europe 2018 TMT: Media Band 1
What the team is known for
The media practice is particularly experienced in defamation, copyright and internet litigation.
Strengths
Clients praise the media team's quick response times and add that its expertise goes beyond legislation, with one describing it as "extremely specialised with a lot of media knowledge."
Work Highligths
Represented KRO-NCRV in high-profile defamation proceedings against Ryanair, relating to claims made about the airline during the broadcast of one of KRO's investigative journalism productions.
Notable practitioners
Jens van den Brink specialises in contentious issues and defamation cases. According to clients, he is "very effective, and knows his business and his clients," adding that he "knows when to push harder and when to seek for a practical solution." He typically acts for broadcasters, newspapers and publishers and has advised GS Media on its defence against several recent damages claims brought against the company.
The "very talented" Christien Wildeman offers a range of expertise regarding media law. She is particularly active on damages and litigation cases, frequently representing newspapers and publishers and defending Newspaper de Volkskrant against various privacy and defamation claims of late.
