Awards

“A highly skilled professional and a familiar face before the EUIPO and the Austrian PTO, Max’s pragmatism and dependability produce exceptional results.”

Gold – Firms: litigation and transactions: “A premier patent litigation firm, GEISTWERT is led by five highly experienced and entrepreneurial partners and a client-oriented team set on achieving their clients’ business goals. Their collaboration is exceptional, both in terms of content and results, and they are always focused and driven in their approach.” The stellar group recently represented TeleTan, the holder of a core patent of authentication processes in online banking, in an infringement claim. “In contentious proceedings relating to software development, Rainer Schultes, Constantin Kletzer and Alexander Schnider are goldmines of information”, and they all brought their A-game to the TeleTan dispute. Also on deck, Max Mosing and Juliane Messner have been working closely with Kletzer on behalf of Österreichische Post, the company responsible for postal service in the country, in technology transfer, licensing and monetisation matters.

Max Mosing was named a Trade mark star 2022.

The boutique law firm GEISTWERT covers a broad range of data privacy and data protection issues, ‘pairing legal expertise with a hands-on approach.’ Juliane Messner, Max Mosing, Alexander Schnider, Rainer Schultes and Constantin Kletzer are the practice heads. The team supports clients with GDPR implementation or represents them in proceedings before the data protection authority and in court. The firm employs various legal tech innovations, such as a web-based data-protection-research and management-tool. Messner stands out as ‘an excellent data privacy and data protection lawyer’ together with Mosing a CIS – Certified Data Privacy Officer. Testimonials: “The team is uniquely good professionally. The partners are very sociable and work hand in hand. You always get feedback quickly and the requirements of the business are also taken into account.” “Geistwerts team is pairing legal expertise with a hands-on approach, leaving unnecessary formalities aside and immediately focusing on the relevant parts.” “Juliane Messner and Max Mosing both convinced us with their expertise and their focus on relevant matters.”

TMT boutique GEISTWERT excels in advising clients on matters in a host of IT-related projects. Constantin Kletzer, Juliane Messner, Max Mosing, Alexander Schnider and Rainer Schultes are well versed in topics ranging from interactive gaming and data protection to start-ups and outsourcing. Another distinctive feature of the boutique is its dedicated Italy-desk headed by Messner, who is admitted in both Austria and Italy. Testimonials: “The team is uniquely good professionally. The partners are very sociable and work hand in hand. You always get feedback quickly and the requirements of the business are also taken into account.” “Juliane is an excellent lawyer. She is excellent in handling complex IT-projects, not only regarding the content, but also in respect of dealing with deadlines and pushing other project members to keep the timeline. As a client she tells you exactly what to do, when to do it, how to do it and why to do it: crystal clear and to the point. You can feel in every project that she loves her work and she understands your specific business needs.”

The boutique law firm GEISTWERT has a strong team of ‘very skilled and experienced, very focused’ experts – the firm’s founding partners Juliane Messner, Max Mosing, Alexander Schnider, Rainer Schultes and Constantin Kletzer – who work together on IP matters. The practice is diverse, ranging from representing clients in trademark infringement and copyright infringement proceedings to trademark and design portfolio management, or IP due diligence for investments. The legal tech tools developed by the firm play a key supporting role. The team acts for clients from a wide range of sectors that include household name brands and companies, not only within Austria and Europe but also internationally. Testimonials: “The GEISTWERT team is really a pleasure working with! Top client service, excellent work and also great personalities! It is fun working with such friends!” “An extremely engaged team of former “large firm” lawyers who give you first class service at competitive rates and with experienced partners as the primary contacts.” “Constantin Kletzer has an excellent knowledge of IP, he is practical and creative but at the same time very attentive to detail and accuracy in work.”

Often recommended: Max Mosing

Comment: In the seven years since it was founded, Geistwert has not only managed to include its fancy name as part of the firm’s name in the company register, but has also established itself as one of the market-leading firms in trademark and competition law. […]

The five partners of the Vienna boutique have become strong challengers to the market leaders. Competitors highlight the team’s large presence in IP litigation. A recent highlight was the representation of Red Bull against Bullsone, which led to a substantial extension of trademark rights and a Union-wide injunction. Another example is the representation of the Russian optics producer Krasnogorsky Zavod against Lomografische AG to enforce an arbitration award obtained and a counterclaim under unfair competition law. Partner Messner most recently acted internationally as chair of the arbitration tribunal in Milan in an international trade mark infringement case involving a luxury fashion brand.

The law firm scored a success on its own account with a landmark decision before the Supreme Court, which allowed it to register its fancy name Geistwert as a law firm in the company register. […] The firm plays in the top league especially in pharmaceutical lawsuits and represents, for example, Genentech and Hoffmann La Roche against Sandoz in the international dispute over the cancer drug Rituximab. The team is also involved in several SPC proceedings. Recently, it has also been involved in major international proceedings through its good contacts with leading patent teams in Germany and the UK.

Since its foundation, the partner-centred approach and close cooperation between the partners have been trademarks of the firm. Whether this concept will bear fruit in the long term or slow down the dynamic development so far remains to be seen. Geistwert has so far used the time that other firms invest in promoting young talent to develop IT solutions for their clients.

Strengths: Consistent focus on IP issues with a partner-centric approach; infringement litigation around pharma patents.

Practice areas: Extensive advice on trademark, design and competition law. Focus on patent infringement litigation in the pharmaceutical and mechanical engineering sectors. Also advises the tourism and automotive sectors. Also trademark administration (almost 900 trademarks).

Trailblazer GEISTWERT is hailed as “a ground-breaking firm that has changed the face of the market. There is no other comparable set-up, where five innovative partners are all stars in the IP field”. “The firm works on a partner level, which gives clients utmost confidence in its super-clear results. Its response times are ultra-quick and its entrepreneurship allows the team to fully see and understand each company’s commercial goals.”

Four GEISTWERT partners were individually ranked again in the Austrian „trend“ Ranking (2021), Max Mosing even twice, namely: Max Mosing for Media Law and Data Protection/Privacy Law, Rainer Schultes for (Unfair) Competition Law, Constantin Kletzer for Trademark-, Copyright- and Patent-Law and Julia Messner for her start-up advisory services.