We are your reliable partners at all stages of the Intellectual Property (“IP”) life-cycle, whether your ideas are just taking shape, or you already have a broad IP portfolio. In case of a dispute, we protect your rights and interests before courts, arbitral tribunals, state authorities, as well as in mediations and negotiations.

We represent start-ups and multi-national companies. We work for individuals as well as private and public institutions and organisations.

Since issues of IP law are often connected to other legal areas, our IP team offers business-oriented service at the intersection of various legal fields. Our IP team works closely with our lawyers in other areas such as unfair competition law, corporate law, employment law, business law and dispute resolution. This collaborative approach allows us to tailor our services to your specific needs.

Our aim is to establish partnerships with clients based on trust and transparency. You can focus on your business, while we take care of any legal issues that might arise.

Be inventive. Creative. We have your back.

If you need to protect or enforce your Intellectual Property (“IP”) rights, we are at your side – in Litigation before state courts, in Arbitration before commercial tribunals or employment tribunals, before state authorities and in ADR out-of-court settlement arrangements.

We represent you in infringement, nullity or opposition proceedings, as well as service invention claims. We have the expertise to help you evaluate best procedural strategies from the outset, including any Alternative Dispute Resolution or initial case assessment options.

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Trade Secrets / Know-how

Algorithms, design drafts, customer data or business strategies can be critical information for any business. Such confidential ‘know-how’ is often essential to maintain competitive advantage. It can be protected as a trade secret provided specific requirements are met.

We advise you on how to meet the necessary requirements and assist you in effectively protecting your valuable confidential information. This support includes all service invention matters and employment law issues, as well as industrial relation matters. We also safeguard your rights in trade secret disputes and disputes before the employment courts.

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Patents and Utility Models

Patents and utility models provide protection for your inventions. We provide expertise and assistance in obtaining, maintaining and enforcing your patents and utility models. If you need help in patent drafting, we cooperate with patent attorneys and ensure a smooth process for national and international patent registration. We develop strategies for effective patent commercialisation/licensing.

In infringement cases or other disputes, we represent you during negotiations, litigations, arbitrations or mediations, whether you are a patent holder or a licensor or licensee, and in any case if you are an employer. Patents and utility models are important in the context of the employer/employee relationship as well as external competition.

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Trademarks

Trademarks protect signs that represent your products and services. We represent you in all trademark-related matters. Our team supports you in developing your brand strategy and takes care of trademark registration on a national and international/community level. We also provide trademark monitoring and renewal services and advise you on the protection of unregistered rights, such as names, firm names etc. In and out of court, we take care of your trademark-related disputes.

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Designs

The shape and form of your products is what makes them unique. We ensure your designs enjoy the best legal protection. We guide you through the process of registering your designs and on regularly renewing such rights as needed. We represent you in all kinds of dispute resolution proceedings and safeguard your interests in and out of court.

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Copyright binds a work to its creator. Whether you are an artist, a publisher, a musician, a filmmaker, a writer, a photographer or any other creator of copyrighted works; whether you are holder of copyrights or ancillary copyrights, as licensee or licensor or any other user of a copyrighted work – we advise you on any copyright-related issues. We also support you in infringement cases and make sure your work is best protected.

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Personal Rights / Privacy / Data Protection

We advise you on all matters related to personal rights and privacy as well as data protection issues. This includes employee data protection issues. We have leading expertise to review your contractual arrangements and employment contracts, support you in media and press related cases, represent you before courts and protect your personal rights in specific IP contexts.

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Contract Design

Well drafted contracts are the solid foundation for every transaction or cooperation.  Our experts ensure your Contracts are legally sound and advise you on the legal path of your corporate ventures. We review your existing agreements and prepare drafts for your future licensing agreements, employment contracts, joint venture agreements, R&D contracts, cooperation agreements, franchise agreements, general terms and conditions or non-disclosure agreements. We can assist on all other questions relating to your contractual relations.

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Project Advice

If you have any questions relating to intellectual property / unfair competition and/or their employment related implications, be it before, during or after the implementation of a project, we will gladly assist you in finding the most effective and sustainable solutions. At every stage, we will accompany you through the sometimes complex world of intellectual property and unfair Competition.

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IP and Know-how management and protection

We develop optimised legal protection for your creations/inventions/know-how/designs/brands and protect you as an employer by providing tailor made contractual arrangements for your employees. We also support you in the commercialisation of your IP rights by providing advice on licensing and exploitation, including in highly regulated industry sectors. To facilitate effective IP maintenance and protection, we offer employee training sessions and internal compliance updates.

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Edward W. Floyd
Partner - New York
Luke Zadkovich
Partner - New York, London, Sydney
  • Negotiation of a settlement agreement with Austrian seated multinational technology company for its Korean business partner (avoiding ICC proceedings).

  • Representation of a world leading Austro-Canadian automotive contract manufacturer in a dispute regarding the conception of a new automobile for a Chinese car manufacturer (EUR 3 million, SCAI).

  • Assisting an international social networking company regarding employment matters and reviewing its employment contracts in Austria.

  • Advising a global provider of financial market data and infrastructure in employment law matters with regard to its Austrian subsidiary.

  • Assisting a Japanese video game and digital entertainment company in employment matters.

  • Assisting the client, a Japanese manufacturer of data carriers, in employment matters such as its bonus scheme or redundancies.

  • Provision of legal advice to a Northern European telecom conglomerate regarding the settlement of a contractual dispute with an Asian telecommunications company regarding the outsourcing of network infrastructure.

  • Provided legal advice to a Finnish telcom conglomerate in the pre-trial phase against an Austrian construction company.

  • IPDC2022

    IPDC2022

    To foster the exchange necessary for rethinking what the legal landscape could look like in a world dominated by automated, data-driven discovery, we brought together international legal experts and experts from science and technology. At the conference, the teams and individual speakers will present their approaches to topics including patent law and blackbox algorithms, protectability of AI generated inventions, access to and protection of datasets, algorithmic bias and more. Join the conference for introductions and updates on legal developments in a data-driven economy fueled by artificial intelligence and machine learning.

    Speakers include Ryan Abbott (University of Surrey and UCLA, DABUS project), Dr. Ulrike Till (WIPO), Philipp Homar (University of Linz), Jacques de Werra (University of Geneva), Alexandra Ebert and Paul Tiwald (MOSTLY AI), Żaneta Zemła – Pacud (Polish Academy of Sciences), Fabian Stanke (SONN Patentanwälte), Andreas Tinhofer (ZFZ), Matteo Aldeghi (MIT), Christoph Langer (IMBA), Melina Peer (ZFZ). The conference will be moderated by Alexander Zojer (ZFZ) and Lukas Hutter (biotop).

    This is an in-person event. Attendance is free of charge, but seating will be limited – for a guaranteed place at the conference, please make sure to register here.

  • Disputes for Tea | Intellectual Property

    Disputes for Tea | Intellectual Property

    “The Human Factor – Creation, Ownership and Infringement of IP Rights in the Age of AI”
    With Alexander Zojer and Lukas Hutter.

    Monday, 25 April 2022
    15:00 CET / 09:00 EST

  • Data Protection and IP Update

    Data Protection and IP Update

    The European Commission has been busy and released several documents on salient issues relating to IP and Data Protection:

  • IP Disputes Conference – IPDC 2019: Trade Secrets

    IP Disputes Conference – IPDC 2019: Trade Secrets

    Protecting trade secrets / know-how in litigation, arbitration and mediation proceedings
    10 May 2019
    http://www.ipdc-vienna.com/