Rien Broekstra

Rien is a partner and dual-qualified (Computer Science/Telematics and Civil Law) attorney-at-law with more than 10 years’ experience in litigating European patents in the Unified Patent Court, the Dutch national courts and at the European Patent Office. Thanks to his solid technical background, he excels in handling litigation concerning technically complex matters in all fields of technology. Rien’s practice revolves mainly around patent litigation in the cellular, networking and codec space, as well as pharma and biotech – both plaintiff and defendant.

Clients highly appreciate Rien for his deep understanding of technology and his skill in applying that understanding in the courtroom. Rien was recognized as a “Silver Individual” in the latest IAM Patent 1000 rankings, as a “Patent Star” in the 2025 edition of IP Stars, and as “Recommended” by Lexology. Rien is fluent in Dutch, English and German.

Case highlights:

• Ballinno v. Kinexon & UEFA regarding Ballinno’s patent on automated offside detection technology before the UPC Local Division of Hamburg, Central Division of Paris, and Court of Appeal
• Cooler Master v. Asetek on CPU cooling equipment before the Hague national courts
• Delta v. Barco on meeting room technology before the Hague national courts, and the Opposition Division and Technical Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office
• Eli Lilly v. Merck on IL-23 antibodies before the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office
• High Point v. KPN regarding High Point’s cellular infrastructure (3G) patent against KPN before the Hague national courts
• OPPO v. Crystal Clear Codec on audio codec patents (EVS) before the UPC Local Division of Munich and the District Court of The Hague
• OPPO v. KPN regarding WebRTC and cellular (3G/4G/5G) patents before the UPC Local Division of The Hague
• OPPO v. Nokia regarding cellular (3G/4G/5G) patents before the District Court of The Hague
• OPPO v. Panasonic regarding cellular (4G/5G) patents before the UPC Local Division of Mannheim – the first SEP/FRAND case before the UPC
• OPPO v. Sisvel on cellular (2.5G/3G/4G) patents before the Hague national courts
• Sandoz v. Leo on psoriasis medication (calcipotriol and calcipotriol/bethamethason) before the Hague national courts
• Sandoz v. Intermune on treatment of lung fibrosis (pirfenidone) before the Hague District Court
• Sandoz v. Abbvie on systemic treatment of Crohn’s Disease (adalimumab) before the Hague District Court
• Vision Box v. Idemia on facial recognition systems for airport access control before the Hague national courts
• Wiko v. Philips in 3G cellular patents before the Hague national courts;
• Xiaomi v. Sisvel on cellular (2.5G/3G/4G) patents before the Hague national courts, including the dismissal of the first Dutch SEP preliminary injunction;