Chambers Global IP (2023)
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”.
Chambers Global IP (2023)
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.”
WTR 1000 (2023)
Last but not least, “Juliane Messner possesses outstanding legal knowledge and a thorough awareness of her clients’ business and their commercial needs. She consistently offers high-quality, solutions-focused counsel in all her cases.”
WTR 1000 (2023)
“The best thing about GEISTWERT is that they offer a team of five partners, all of whom are entrepreneurs. Due to their knowledge, attentiveness and aptitude for clearly communicating important facts, the team provides practical, IP-savvy assistance to an impressive roster of clients.”
WTR 1000 (2023)
Also on deck are Juliane Messner and Max Mosing, both of whom receive rave reviews. “Juliane is one of the best IP lawyers in the country. She is business oriented and a great team player who can find creative solutions to complex problems – traits which are crucial when navigating complicated, time-sensitive projects.”
WTR 1000 (2023)
[GEISTWERT’s] “five innovative founding partners and their diverse personalities” have shaped GEISTWERT into “a ground-breaking Austrian law firm that is virtually unrivalled on the market”. A prime pick for any and all branding matters, the team “has revolutionised the local landscape and acts on innovative cases that have yet to break ground in the courts”. As is evident from the amount of spontaneous feedback it attracts, the 2014-established outfit has worked hard to position itself as a premier destination and its efforts have not gone unnoticed. “It is not easy to impress new clients and convince them to work with you,” comments one foreign associate, “but the GEISTWERT team not only does that – it also carries on performing at an exceptional level day in, day out. Their interest in legal, business and technological developments guarantees innovative solutions to complex problems.”
MIP IP Stars Firm Rankings 2022
As a firm, GEISTWERT received the following MIP IP Stars Firm Rankings 2022:
Patent contentious: Tier 1
Trade mark contentious: Tier 1
Trade mark prosecution: Tier 2
Copyright & related rights: Highly Recommended (only “highly recommended” and “recommended” available)
IAM Patent 1000 (2022)
“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.”
IAM Patent 1000 (2022)
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.
Legal 500 Data Privacy and Data Protection (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.”
Legal 500 IP (2022)
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.”
Legal 500 TMT (2022)
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.”
Chambers Europe IP (2022)
Strengths: One satisfied client notes: “The strengths lie in the know-how of the people. They have a very practical approach and can illustrate the facts well. They give many examples, which helps our understanding.” Another client adds: “The whole GEISTWERT team is not only particularly competent, but also very easy to deal with and can be reached quickly. They have very fast response times and give clear answers.”
Chambers Europe TMT: Information Technology (2022)
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.
trend Lawyer’s Ranking 2020
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.