In memoriam: Jan Brinkhof

We are saddened to announce that Jan Brinkhof, co-founder and eponym of our firm, passed away on Thursday, November 27, 2025, at the age of 80.

Jan had a long and highly successful career as a patent judge. As Chairman of the specialized IP chamber of the Court of Appeal in The Hague, he was one of the first judges to take the European dimension of patent law in the Netherlands seriously, and he was at the cradle of the famous Dutch decisions on cross-border jurisdiction that aimed to achieve a practical and uniform/harmonized resolution of pan-European disputes. Jan was also a member of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office. In addition, Jan had a successful career as a professor of IP at Utrecht University.

In 2000, Jan decided to make the transition to the legal private practice profession, and at the end of 2004, he and seven other partners founded the firm Brinkhof. We ‘Brinkhovians’ owe a great deal to Jan. Due to his considerable national and international renown as a European patent specialist, choosing his name as the name of our firm was a natural choice, which contributed significantly to our flying start and established reputation as a renowned center of expertise in the specialized field of technology and law. Jan himself, calm and modest as he was, was not particularly enthusiastic about having his name on the facade of the building, on our stationery, pens, and umbrellas.

Thoughtful, modest, and highly knowledgeable was also his characteristic style as a judge, lawyer, partner, and beloved colleague. Jan was always kind, honest, and genuinely interested in others. His passing is a great loss, and we wish his wife Tonny and his children, children-in-law, and grandchildren strength and courage to cope with it. His name remains inextricably linked to us – his fame and reputation live on through our beautiful firm, and we are grateful and proud of that.

All partners and employees of Brinkhof.