Awards

GEISTWERT‘s partner-only practice provides ‘extremely fast and efficient advice’ at the intersection of data protection and IP, handling international data transfers, IT projects and data protection aspects of corporate transactions. The team, consisting of Constantin Kletzer, Juliane Messner, Max Mosing, Alexander Schnider and Rainer Schultes, also acts for clients facing hearings before the Austrian data protection authority and the courts, assisting with issues concerning user data disclosure requests and GDPR matters. The firm’s client base is comprised of companies ranging from digital media and pharmaceuticals to leisure and public bodies, whom it also advises on digital projects and initiatives including the launch of new customer programmes and services.

Testimonials:

Excellent market knowledge of the sectors that are important to us, such as EdTech, IP law, pharmaceutical law, corporate law bundled in one law firm, solving problems in a client-oriented manner and providing extremely fast and efficient advice.’

‘Juliane Messner has the best knowledge of corporate law. So important for us because we are internationally established. Max Mosing provides us with solution-oriented support in the volatile environment of data protection law. Rainer Schultes is our trusted pharmaceutical law specialist.’

‘Juliane Messner and Max Mosing are hands-on, knowledgeable and understand the business of their clients. They are stand-out lawyers in the market and always give clients the feeling that their matters are in good hands.’

“GEISTWERT’s service is always of excellent quality. All five partners not only have extremely deep knowledge of the specific fields they practice in but are also hands on and collaborative in a way that only benefits the client.” Alexander Schnider has a real entrepreneurial spirit and provides complete protection to gaming and media patrons. Alongside Rainer Schultes and Max Mosing, he has been advising Novomatic on all Austrian and EUIPO trademark matters. Schultes frequently emerges victorious from many skirmishes, while complex transactional instructions are bread and butter to Mosing. He works closely with Juliane Messner, and the duo receive warm plaudits from patrons: “Juliane and Max tailor their advice to the specific recommendations of our company and, due to their expertise, implement solutions that are highly customised and above all pragmatic. They always do an exceptional job and, on top of that, they are a pleasure to work with.” “When it comes to complex trademark litigation, Constantin Kletzer is the go-to attorney in Austria. He is a bright and deeply experienced lawyer with a keen sense for strategic solutions.”

As a firm, GEISTWERT received the following MIP IP Stars Firm Rankings 2023:

Patent disputes: Tier 1
Trade mark disputes: Tier 1
Copyright & related rights: Highly Recommended (only “highly recommended” and “recommended” available)
Trade mark prosecution: Tier 2

“Max has a superb knowledge of the law and how to apply it practically”, while “Juliane perfectly combines the world of IP law with transactions law – a unique talent, especially in international projects”.

The talent does not stop there though, with Alexander Schnider, Constantin Kletzer, Max Mosing and Juliane Messner all bringing their expertise to the mix. “It’s impressive how seamlessly the GEISTWERT partners work together. They truly act as a team and, most remarkably, they always select the best person for the job, ensuring their clients receive a personal and tailored service.” Of late, Schultes, Schnider and Kletzer represented TeleTan in an infringement claim against the bank Six Payment Systems for using TeleTan’s patented authentication system on their online payment authorisation platform.

“The IP community in Austria is a small but impressive one and GEISTWERT stands out among the top-tier firms. Its team of outstanding patent litigators across all technical domains are the go-to for strategic IP advice, patent litigation and transactional support. The overall experience of working with them is phenomenal.”

This Viennese boutique has established itself as an authoritative IP outfit, particularly in litigation. It has long been a market leader in soft IP. In patent law, the practice led by Constantin Kletzer and Rainer Schultes has become the most persistent challenger to the market-leading firm Gassauer-Fleissner, thanks to its enormous presence in patent litigation. The fact that competitor Schwarz Schönherr, which had been weakened following a partner departure, was unable to keep pace with Geistwert was a further contributing factor. Like Gassauer-Fleissner, Geistwert is also one of the best-known Austrian patent litigation firms internationally. If Austrian issues arise at the UPC, both firms can depend upon being the first point of contact for litigation here, especially if IP teams without a local presence require cooperation partners.

Nevertheless, this is by no means a foregone conclusion and Geistwert would be wise to seek close cooperation with IP law firms in Europe. […] However, the team’s work in its most prominent case for Tele Tan against Mastercard concerning authentication procedures in online banking proves that the partners can handle international cases on the plaintiff side.

The firm’s trademark and unfair competition lawyers are often involved in cases for international clients, such as a German carmaker or a pharmaceutical company. Their best-known IP client with international reach is probably the Austrian beverage manufacturer Red Bull. The firm represents the company in IP litigation, as well as copyright, media and data protection law. IP advice goes hand in hand with IT and data protection advice due to the many international social media groups and streaming providers as clients.

The firm owes its success not only to its consistent focus on IP and IT law issues, but also to its partner-centric approach. The new challenges posed by the UPC will show whether this concept is sustainable in the long term or will slow down the dynamic development.

Strengths

Consistent focus on IP issues with partner-centric approach; infringement litigation concerning pharma patents.

Recommended individuals

Constantin Kletzer (“excellent litigator who has seen it all”, competitor), Rainer Schultes (“well versed in patent litigation, especially pharma patents”, “the firm is a powerhouse in Austrian IP and Schultes is at the forefront”, competitors)

‘Max Mosing – he isn’t just a lawyer, but also understands the aspects beyond the legal stuff. It is tremendously helpful in negotiations.‘’

GEISTWERT‘s five-strong team comprising Constantin Kletzer, Juliane Messner, Max Mosing, Alexander Schnider and Rainer Schultes offers comprehensive IP services. On the contentious side, this includes representing clients in patent, trade mark and copyright matters before the Austrian and European courts and IP offices. The team is well versed in handling commercial IP matters, advising a number of household names on the management of their global IP portfolios and performing due diligence prior to corporate transactions or investments. Clients from sectors as diverse as the gaming, entertainment, and food and beverage industries routinely instruct the practice on complex IP issues.

‘The GEISTWERT team is without any doubt the creme de la creme of IP in Austria: landmark cases, outstanding clients, including many state-owned and world leading companies from Austria, and they still take care of start-ups and smaller companies. Their teamwork is great and you can see that they really do have fun doing their job and going the extra mile.’

GEISTWERT is a specialist TMT, IP and IT boutique, assisting clients with the gamut of issues, and particularly proficient in advising on compliance with EU directives. Constantin Kletzer, Juliane Messner (admitted in Austria and Italy), Max Mosing, Alexander Schnider and Rainer Schultes lead the team, and advise video game developers, streaming and entertainment services and car manufacturers on the drafting of development contracts, IT outsourcing, online stores, gambling regulations, and, increasingly, NFTs. The team is also experienced in handling IP issues, often being instructed to handle patent and copyright matters.

‘Excellent technical and client service skills, innovative, flexible, pragmatic and reasonable on pricing, have embraced diversity from the very start, definitely my go-to place on any occasion.’

‘Alexander Schnider: very experienced on tech agreements, outsourcing and regulatory issues. Max Mosing: leader in the market on privacy matters. Juliane Messner: very helpful in disputes.’

‘The team pairs legal expertise with a hands-on approach, leaving unnecessary formalities aside and immediately focusing on the relevant parts. Furthermore, they can be reached quickly, have extremely fast response times and give clear advice on complex questions.’