Elise Menkhorst is an attorney-at-law and associate partner who specialises in the fields of intellectual property law and commercial contracts. She joined Clairfort when it was founded in October 2017.
SElise advises and litigates in the field of the law governing trade names, trademarks, copyrights, designs and advertising, among others. Elise represents both Dutch and international businesses in domestic and cross-border disputes. She liaises with designers and businesses in order to optimally protect their rights. She also assists various parties in infringement cases, involving either the enforcement of rights in relation to parties that exercise them without consent, or cases in which her clients themselves are held liable.
Elise also drafts and assesses general terms and conditions. She is furthermore in her element when negotiating and drawing up commercial contracts, such as collaboration agreements and contracts providing for the assignment and exercise of intellectual property rights.
Elise studied at the University of Leiden and at the UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. Elise first joined De Gier | Stam & Advocaten, an IP and IT firm in Utrecht, and later worked in the intellectual property practice of Banning Advocaten in Den Bosch. She joined Clairfort when it was founded. She is an enthusiastic, accessible and highly motivated lawyer, dedicated to obtaining the best outcome for her clients with the aid of strategy and expertise. Elise regularly lectures in her fields of expertise and is a member of the Beneluxvereniging voor Merken- en Modellenrecht (Benelux Association for Trademark and Design Law) (BMM) and the Vereniging voor Reclamerecht (Dutch Advertising Law Association) (VvRr), among others.
World Trademark Review 1000 – The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals:
2023 “Making her debut in the WTR 1000 this year, “Elise is a shining example of someone who has a calling and is doing exactly what she loves and excels at. She is extremely knowledgeable and practical, but also critical when assessing the merits of a situation. She has the gift of simplifying even the most challenging topics.”
