Awards
Selected Positions
- Member of the editorial board of the Lawyer's Magazine (Advokatbladet), 2021
- Board member, Norwegian Bar Association, Oslo, 2020
- Member, the legal professional group for patent, trademark and design rights, 2014
Rune Opdahl is a partner in Wiersholm’s Technology and Intellectual Property team. He specialises in privacy and data protection, intellectual property law (copyright, trademarks and patents), marketing law, technology/IT law, consumer law and contract law. His practice includes both advisory work and dispute resolution/litigation, and he is admitted to appear before the Supreme Court of Norway.
Rune advises clients across a wide range of industries, including media, technology, trade, e-commerce, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, sports and finance. His work primarily concerns technology (including artificial intelligence), data, innovation, content production, intellectual property rights, regulatory compliance, and collaboration between businesses – such as supplier and distribution relationships, research and development partnerships, and other strategic alliances.
In Finansavisen’s (Norwegian business daily) annual lawyer survey, Rune is ranked as one of Norway’s leading lawyers within Privacy, Technology/Digitalisation, Intellectual Property and Media, as well as among Norway’s most prominent lawyers overall. He is also recognised as an expert in both Intellectual Property and TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications) by the international ranking agencies Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.
Rune is a member of the Expert Committee on Patent, Trademark and Design Law at the Norwegian Association of Lawyers’ Education Centre (JUS), a member of the Editorial Board of Advokatbladet (he Lawyers’ Magazine), and a member of the Norwegian Bar Association’s Representative Council.
Awards, Work experience, Positions and Education
- Copyright star, MIP IP Stars, Intellectual Property , 2025
- Trade mark star, MIP IP Stars, Intellectual Property , 2025
- Leading Partners, Legal 500, TMT, 2025
- Leading Partners, Legal 500, Intellectual property , 2025
- Band 3, Chambers Europe , Intellectual Property , 2025
- Band 2, Chambers Europe , TMT: Data Protection , 2025
- Band 3, Chambers Europe , TMT: Information Technology , 2025
- Top 10, Advokatundersøkelsen, Kapital Jus, Technology and digitalization, 2024
- Top 10, Advokatundersøkelsen, Kapital Jus, Data privacy, 2024
- Top 10, Advokatundersøkelsen, Kapital Jus, Intellectual property, 2024
- Band 3, Chambers Global, Intellectual Property, 2025
- Top 10, Advokatundersøkelsen, Finansavisen, Intellectual property, 2023
- Top 10, Advokatundersøkelsen, Finansavisen, Data privacy, 2023
- Top 10, Advokatundersøkelsen, Finansavisen, Technology and digitalization, 2023
- Recommended Individuals, IAM Patent 1000, Litigation and transactions, 2024
- Leading Individuals, Legal 500, TMT, 2024
- Leading Individuals, Legal 500, Intellectual Property, 2024
- Band 3, Chambers Europe, TMT: Information Technology, 2024
- Band 2, Chambers Europe, TMT: Data Protection, 2024
- Band 3, Chambers Europe, Intellectual Property, 2024
- Bronze, World Trademark Review, Individuals: enforcement and litigation, 2024
- Band 3, Chambers Global, Intellectual Property, 2024
- Band 3, Chambers Global, Intellectual Property, 2023
- Band 3, Chambers Europe, TMT: Information Technology, 2023
- Band 2, Chambers Europe, TMT: Data Protection, 2023
- Band 3, Chambers Europe, Intellectual Property, 2023
- 2023
- 2023
- Global Leader, Who's Who Legal 2023, Information Technology, 2023
- Global Leader, Who's Who Legal 2023, Data Protection & Privacy, 2023
- Top 10, Advokatundersøkelsen, Finansavisen, Intellectual property law, 2022
- 2nd place, Advokatundersøkelsen, Finansavisen, Technology and digitalisation, 2022
- 2nd place, Advokatundersøkelsen, Finansavisen, Privacy, 2022
- Leading individuals, Legal 500, Intellectual Property, 2022
- Band 3, Chambers Europe, TMT: Data Protection, 2022
- Band 3, Chambers Europe, Intellectual Property, 2022
- Leading individuals, Legal 500, TMT, 2021
- Leading individuals, Legal 500, Intellectual property, 2021
- Band 3, Chambers Europe, Intellectual Property – Norway, 2021
- Band 3, Chambers Europe, TMT: Information Technology, 2021
- Trademark Star, IP Stars, Intellectual Property, 2021
- Copyright Star, IP Stars, Intellectual Property, 2021
- Thought Leader Data, Who's Who Legal, Data Protection & Privacy, 2020
- Next Generation Partners, Legal 500, TMT, 2020
- Leading indviduals, Legal 500, Intellectual Property, 2020
- Band 3, Chambers Europe, TMT: Information Technology – Norway, 2020
- Band 3, Chambers Europe, Intellectual Property – Norway, 2020
- Partner, Wiersholm, 2015
- Managing Associate, Wiersholm, 2012
- Senior Associate, Wiersholm, 2009
- Associate, Wiersholm, 2006
- Member of the editorial board of the Lawyer's Magazine (Advokatbladet), 2021
- Board member, Norwegian Bar Association, Oslo, 2020
- Member, the legal professional group for patent, trademark and design rights, 2014
- Board member AIPPI (Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété) Norway, 2011 – 2021
- Board secretary, the Norwegian Association for the Protection of Industrial Property, 2011 – 2021
- Cand. Jur., University of Oslo, 2005
- Studies in Intellectual Property Law and IT Law, The University of Southampton, 2004
Selected projects
Represented Don't Look Now Productions (Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt) in a dispute with Oslo Pictures concerning the allocation of revenues from the Oscar-nominated film The Worst Person in the World. The case concerns the parties’ agreement on revenue sharing, including whether post-release support from the Norwegian Film Institute constitutes income, and whether there is an obligation to repay amounts received from the European Collection Agency.
Represented Grindr LLC before the Borgarting Court of Appeal in a case against the the Privacy Appeals Board, represented by the State, concerning the validity of an administrative fine of NOK 65 million (EUR 6,5 million) – the highest imposed in Norway to date. The case was the first in which Norwegian courts reviewed an administrative fine under the GDPR, raising fundamental questions regarding the processing of special categories of personal data, the validity of consent for personalised advertising, and the assessment of the fine’s amount.
Part of Wiersholm’s team assisting Schibsted ASA in the transaction through which the group’s media operations were transferred to the Tinius Trust via Blommenholm Industrier AS, with an enterprise value of approximately NOK 6.3 billion. The transaction marked the division of Schibsted into two independent groups – Schibsted Media and Vend (formerly Schibsted Marketplaces). Rune had particular responsibility for matters relating to technology, data and privacy in connection with the transaction.
Led Wiersholm’s team in preparing a legal assessment for the Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Inclusion (AID) on the use of digital management tools in public procurement from a GDPR perspective. The report concluded that current legislation permits the use of such tools without the need for statutory or regulatory amendments, and recommended that the Ministry further develop guidance and standard contracts rather than introducing new regulation.
Advised Hamar Municipality in the Smart Data innovation partnership, together with Tietoevry (technology) and Halogen (design). Funded by Innovation Norway, the project aims to develop a solution enabling municipalities to utilise their own data to improve and further develop public services while safeguarding privacy. The work included legal assessments on the use of citizen data for innovation purposes and the development of new municipal services
Co-authored the Norwegian Bar Association’s official GDPR Guidelines, together with Thomas Olsen (Simonsen Vogt Wiig) and Christopher Sparre-Enger Clausen (Thommessen). The guidelines provide practical advice on how law firms can comply with data protection legislation, covering topics such as the processing of client data and the exemption for legal proceedings. The work was commissioned by the Norwegian Bar Association as part of its initiative to strengthen data protection competence within the legal profession.
Advising Mediebedriftenes Klareringstjeneste in the renewal of its licensing agreements for news media monitoring. The work takes into account recent legal developments in copyright law and technological advances, including issues related to artificial intelligence, and the digital copying and use of editorial content.
Led Wiersholm’s team in preparing a legal opinion for the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) on the legal framework governing the use of data for research and development (R&D). The opinion examined NAV’s ability to reuse data for internal and external research, the sharing of data with research institutions, and the relationship between data protection law, confidentiality obligations and research purposes.
Advice to BITS in a project involving several banks concerning use of data for monitoring of transactions, including advice on privacy and regulatory issues.
Advises The Global Ensemble Drama on the drafting and negotiation of agreements for the production of TV series and films for Netflix, including Home for Christmas and Royalteen. The work includes agreements with screenwriters, directors, actors and Netflix, as well as handling issues related to rights management and clearance. Both productions have achieved international success.
Following a request by the government, NAV engaged Wiersholm to prepare a legal opinion of the legal basis for Labor and Welfare Administration's digitization efforts. In particular, we are asked to assess NAV's use of new technology, artificial intelligence, automated decision making, and data exchange between other public entities.
Represented Simula in a dispute against the Chinese technology company ZTE. The case concerned the clients' tort due to ZTE's update of its MF910 mobile modems. The main question is whether a producer of mobile modems can update the modem regardless of whether the customer has chosen not to receive any updates, or in any case without the customer's consent. Wiersholm took over the case from the competing law firm Vaar Advokat AS after the client lost in the District Court. The Appeal Court agreed with Simula that ZTE's forced upgrade of the devices, without the user's consent, represented a negligent act giving rise to liability in tort. The case provides a general threshold for technology producer's right to update their software and which responsibility the producer will have in case the update causes any loss.
Assistance to Norwegian Media Businesses Association (Mediebedriftenes Landsforening) and Norwegian media enterprises in connection with GDPR and ePrivacy issues, including with respect to personalisation of online ads and programmatic buying of such ads. The assistance included, inter alia, preparation of the Norwegian media industry's standard agreements and policies with respect to the exchange of data between the publishers and adtech vendors.