Pieter van den Bulck

Founder and Director, Stobbs IP

Pieter joined Stobbs in 2022 to set up our new office in the Netherlands.

Instead of joining a law firm, Pieter decided to start working in-house immediately after he obtained his Masters of Law degree from Tilburg University in 2006. Beginning as a trademark paralegal at SABMiller in Rotterdam, he qualified as a certified trademark attorney in 2009. Pieter transferred to the company’s UK head office in 2015, and subsequently moved to Belgium in 2018 after SABMiller was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev to form the biggest brewing company in the world, owning more than 500 brands including some of the world’s highest value brands such as Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois.

During his 15 years as in-house counsel, Pieter gained unparalleled practical experience in managing intellectual property in a highly commercial and competitive environment. Pieter was responsible for everything that related to intellectual property, including trademarks, patents, litigation, conflict settlement, licensing, joint development agreements, and merger and acquisitions.

Some of his highlights include the development of a revolutionary intellectual property management tool in collaboration with Stobbs, managing an international patent dispute, being responsible for the dispute between Anheuser-Busch and Budejovicky Budvar over the Budweiser trademark, and the US$11.3 billion divestment of his former employers’ Australian business unit that was highly complex from an intellectual property and brand licensing point of view.

In addition to having received various international awards and recognitions related to intellectual property (World Trademark Review (WTR) Global Leaders, WTR 300 World’s Leading Corporate Trademark Professionals, Managing IP Corporate IP Stars), Pieter was included in the Legal 500 General Counsel Powerlist for the Benelux in 2022.

Pieter served as a Director on the Board of the International Trademark Association (INTA) from 2019 until 2021. He continues to be heavily involved with INTA in his current roles as Europe Advisory Councils Co-Chair, and Development of In-House Professionals Subcommittee Leader.