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)

Juliane Messner and Max Mosing are clear experts in their field, understanding the legal, commercial and technical dimension of a client’s needs and stand out for their knowledge of current legal developments and state of the art technology.’

GEISTWERT

Described as having adopted a ‘collegial partner-only approach‘ GEISTWERT team is comprises five partners, namely Juliane Messner, Max Mosing, Alexander Schnider, Rainer Schultes, and Constantin Kletzer, who solely handle all matters at partner level. Sector wise, their work relates to the energy, environment, infrastructure and waste management areas. The group offers a full service for not only data protection and data privacy, but also for TMT generally, with strong focus on online business.

The law firm’s partner-only approach is a distinctive feature, ensuring vast experience with many of the client’s topics. Pleasantly informal, the firm understands the needs of its clients well and aims at delivering tailor-made solutions.’

‘Due to their collegial partner-only approach, both our lawyers appear simultaneously both in emails and calls, which makes a clear distinction between them difficult.’

‘Juliane Messner is the “commercial wonder woman” in the GEISTWERT team.‘

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.’

“Juliane is an outstanding lawyer who not only manages to identify risks, but also develops the right solutions to fix them. She combines her IP and M&A experience brilliantly, and clients are amazed by her professionalism at every turn.”

“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.

GEISTWERT is a boutique firm offering dependable expertise in IT and related IP matters. The practice is noted for high-quality work in software contracts and game development. It additionally handles related IP aspects, especially copyright and trade mark matters. GEISTWERT’s further areas of activity include data protection and regulatory advice for tech companies. It is often seen advising technology startups as well as numerous clients in the media, entertainment and electronics industries. The team represents state-owned and private companies on both domestic and multi-jurisdictional matters.

What the team is known for: GEISTWERT is a well-known law firm offering an excellent IP practice comprising patent and trade mark-related advice, including portfolio management and infringement litigation. The law firm boasts additional experience in domain disputes as well as licence agreements and contentious as well as non-contentious copyright mandates. The team attracts clients from various industries, including gaming, food and drink, technology and energy.

Strengths: “All lawyers are super easy to work with and can shuffle matters around their own ranks to make sure that you get the best lawyer for your matter.” “The team is super quick and its client service is impeccable.” “GEISTWERT provides valuable insights and advice, especially from a commercial point of view and regarding possible legal traps.” “The GEISTWERT partners are specialised in all fields of IP and thus can handle complex matters with enough manpower. The team never loses focus or the overview of the big picture and the economic background.” “The firm’s pragmatism and dependability produce exceptional results also in international, complex and sophisticated matters and in front of the authorities and courts. The team pairs legal expertise with a hands-on approach.”

Italian and Austrian-qualified Juliane Messner is well placed to assist with IP mandates involving both jurisdictions. She advises prominent clients on trade mark questions, including complex infringement mandates. Clients also benefit from her experience in arbitration proceedings. “Juliane Messner proved to be a most valued support due to her in-depth legal and commercial insights.” “Juliane Messner has a great technical and legal mind and is very responsive.” “She tells us always 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 her client’s specific business needs.”

Juliane furthermore is the only Austrian IP lawyer ranked as “Foreign expert in Italy”.