Intellectual Property
Our experts in intellectual property law will protect your ideas and innovations
Top intellectual property law firm
Our IP team is at the forefront of technological development in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive environment. Our understanding of digitalisation and business transformation helps us in our daily work: we offer legal services for the management of your IP portfolio and comprehensive protection of your IP rights in the physical world as well as in virtual environments.
We advise on IP strategy to help businesses benefit from their competitive advantages and leverage innovation: from the development and management of IP assets to prosecution and enforcement, as well as transactional IP. Whether you are a multinational corporation or a small highly specialised company, we can develop tailored legal solutions for you.
The team’s sectoral expertise spans a wide range of industries: from new media and tech, to life sciences and pharma, banks and insurances, consumer and luxury products and retail.
Key Contacts
Areas of specialisation
Trademarks
Trademarks are essential to keeping your business recognisable. We have a strong track-record in trademark law with experience in handling ground-breaking and specialised cases such as colour and 3D trademarks. We offer trademark strategy development services, portfolio management (including clearance, prosecution, and monitoring services), as well as trademark enforcement advice and representation before courts and patent offices in Austria and throughout the CEE/SEE region, and at the European Trademark Office.
Patents
A major focus of Wolf Theiss’ IP team is on advice and representation in litigation concerning patents, utility models and supplementary protection certificates. Our services cover litigation in infringement proceedings, including obtaining or defending against preliminary injunctions, as well as representation in proceedings concerning the validity of patents, utility models and supplementary protection certificates.
Furthermore, the IP team advises on employee invention law, licensing, IP rights transfers, pledge agreements for patents and utility models, as well as in the context of M&A transactions.
Copyrights
Whether offline or online, your authorship must be efficiently protected. We have experience in copyright protection for music, books, images, film and TV as well as software, digital media and NFTs. If you come across a song or an image that reminds you just a bit too much of your own work, we can advise you on copyright infringement proceedings, even in complex cross-border cases.
Unfair competition
Marketing often pushes the limits of permissible fair competition practices, which have been tightening in recent years. We can advise you on matters such as misleading and comparative advertisements, misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information, along with other unfair or deceptive business practices. Our clients come from various sectors, such as retail, life sciences and pharma, IT, tech and online media.
Intellectual property litigation
Do you need to defend the innovative and creative output of your business from theft or misuse? We can represent you in all types of IP infringement cases, as well as in contract disputes related to intellectual property and claims involving unfair and deceptive business practices.
We do not shy away from heated disputes over issues such as personality rights and defamation. Over the years, our IP team has developed extensive expertise in personality rights protection on social media. You benefit from our full range of dispute resolution services.
Leading the legal field
Our lawyers are involved in key transactions and matters across the region, bringing their industry expertise and specialised business knowledge to add value to our clients’ work.
Managing a portfolio of 300+ trademarks worldwide for personal a care company
Represented the biggest video sharing platform YouTube in a copyright law infringement case
Advised a global payment services company on the alleged infringement of a patent concerning a secure mobile payment system
Represented a manufacturer of medical devices in court proceedings on the alleged violation and exploitation of know-how related to the production of bone cement.
Covering trademark law, copyright law, patents, designs, unfair competition and intellectual property litigation
Success for major video platform
Our team represented YouTube in Austria and before the CJEU in a landmark case against alleged copyright infringement claims brought by Austrian private broadcaster Puls4 TV, requesting that YouTube refrain from uploading and monetising videos from their television programmes.
Lawsuit rejected
The Austrian Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit based on the CJEU rulings on host provider’s liability in comparable cases.
Patent infringement claim
We advised the European Central Bank with respect to national patent invalidity proceedings at the Austrian Patent Office, as part of cross-border patent litigation throughout various European jurisdictions. The Austrian Patent Office agreed with our arguments and declared the patent in suit as null and void. This decision was ultimately confirmed by the then Austrian Supreme Patent and Trademark Senate.
Trade secret for life sciences company
Our team advised and represented a leading international manufacturer of medical devices in court proceedings related to the alleged exploitation and appropriation of trade secrets through one of its competitors in Austria under the Unfair Competition Act.
Managing regional IP rights portfolio
Advising CROCS on the comprehensive management of their intellectual property rights portfolio in Austria and CEE/SEE countries. We handle the registration of their trademark “CROCS” and related monitoring, opposition proceedings and actions against infringements, including the sale of fake Crocs shoes.
Get in touch
Whether you need an international team with extensive experience, Wolf Theiss can support your business goals through our profound legal practice.
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