Kenneth Kvistgaard-Aaholm

Professional profile

Kenneth Kvistgaard-Aaholm specialises in IP law and assists Danish and foreign companies within several IP law disciplines. He focuses on transactions and advises on IP strategies.

An area of special attention is legal proceedings, including complex litigation.

Kenneth heads up our team that handles and manages our clients' portfolios of trademarks and design rights all over the world. He has assisted a number of our clients in enforcing their trademarks in cases before the Danish courts.

The majority of Kenneth's cases are in the technical domain, covering patents, utility models and cases where technical understanding is relevant or an advantage, for instance infringement of IP rights, violation of the Danish Marketing Practices Act via the Internet or abuse of trade secrets. Kenneth's cases in the technical domain have included a number of patent and utility model infringement cases as well as transactions involving these rights - both isolated IP assignments or licence agreements, but also assignment and licensing in connection with M&A.

Kenneth works with copyrights, franchises and particularly cases in the interface between IP law and competition law. This type of case is becoming increasingly common and matches Kenneth's other work very well, as he spent his first years with our firm in our EU & Competition practice group and Kenneth's LL.M. from King's College London focused on competition law subjects.

Between 2007-2020, Kenneth has been a lecturer at Aarhus University in the subject Market Law, which is made up of competition law, marketing law and IP law. He also teaches IP law and competition law interfacing at DIFI's courses (Danish Institute for IP rights training). Kenneth is a member of FIR, AIPPI, EPLAW, LES and INTA.

Significant cases
Kenneth has assisted clients with legal proceedings in Denmark as well as abroad. He has coordinated a number of foreign legal proceedings where Danish clients have either been sued or have sued others in one or more countries. Particularly, Kenneth has assisted in a large number of cases in the USA and Germany.

Kenneth has also been responsible for the IP aspects of a number of major transactions, including the establishment of a large Danish joint venture requiring the assignment of IP rights to the joint venture and the joint venture licensing in and out IP rights.

Career and education

Career

Gorrissen Federspiel 2002 -
Partner, Gorrissen Federspiel since 2012

Education

Right of audience before the Danish Supreme Court 2016
Right of audience before the Danish High Court 2008
Admitted to the Danish Bar 2006
LL.M., King's College London 2005
Master of Laws, Aarhus University 2001

Language

English

Ratings

Kenneth Kvistgaard-Aaholm is rated as 'Recommended Lawyer' and 'Leading Individual' in Legal 500, WTR1000, Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, Client Choice and IAM Patent1000.

Publications

Co-author on the chapter "Denmark" in International Advertising Law, Global Law and Business, 2014
Co-author on the chapter about "Denmark" in: Patent Litigation, The European Lawyer Reference, 2012
Co-author on the chapter "Expanding IP Strategies in a Globalized World" in "IP Client Strategies in the EU" Thomson Reuters 2009.
Co-author on the chapter about "Denmark" in: International Franchising. Kluwer Law International, 2008. Contributor to the chapter: "Denmark" in International Franchising Law, LexisNexis
Author of the chapters "Den konkurrenceretlige regulering på det overordnede pla"” (The overall competition law regulation) samt "Forligsaftaler i forbindelse med tvister om krænkelse, ugyldighed med videre" (Settlement agreements regarding disputes on infringement, invalidity, etc.) i Dansk Immaterialret III, Immaterialretlige Aftaleforhold (Danish Intellectual Property Law III, Intellectual Property Agreement Related Issues), Gjellerup/Gads Forlag, 2013

Memberships and activities

Teaching at DIFI (Danish Institute For IPR Training) courses on the intersection between IP and competition law, 2012 -
External lecturer in market law, University of Aarhus, 2007 -
Teacher of Finance Law, the Business School in Aarhus, 2003-2004