The Legal 500

Gassauer-Fleissner Rechtsanwälte GmbH’s IP team, with four partners, is relatively large by Austrian standards, and is ‘one of the best’. The firm has a strong track record advising pharmaceutical companies and has developed niche expertise in product piracy matters such as enforcement and customs seizures. Michael Wolner is singled out for praise by clients, and Barbara Kuchar is ‘competent and accessible’. The team also features the well-respected Christian Gassauer-Fleissner and Max Mosing

Höhne, In der Maur & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH has an excellent reputation amongst peers for its dominance in the IP and IT sectors. Thomas Höhne is ‘very good’ and ‘definitely a leading individual’, and Georg Streit is also highly rated.

Schoenherr is ‘responsive and willing to find business-oriented solutions’. The experienced team continues to acts for some big-name clients; 2010 saw the team advise a number of drinks companies such as fruit juice manufacturer Pago and the distributor of American Bud. Christian Hauer and Guido Kucsko lead the five-partner team, which in 2010 advised Pfizer in a trade mark infringement case regarding Viagra that reached the Austrian Supreme Court.

The eminent Lothar Wiltschek leads the team at Wiltschek Rechtsanwälte, which specialises in trade marks, patents, design rights and copyrights. The compact team is recognised as an ‘excellent boutique’ and a market leader. The team also features Ernst Tremmel and David Plasser.

CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz Rechtsanwälte GmbH has a good track record acting for clients in the life sciences and consumer goods sectors. Practice head Egon Engin-Deniz led a team that advised Johnson & Johnson on various IP-related matters including distribution and patents.

DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach has good experience before the Patent Office and in enforcement work, and also offers a dedicated trade mark filing department. Practice head Alexander Cizek offers ‘good explanations for non-experts’, and is highly recommended for his anti-counterfeiting and trade mark enforcement experience.

Dorda Brugger Jordis had a busy 2010 advising on some varied and high-profile matters, such as a case involving the late Austrian pop musician Falco. Axel Anderl leads the team, which advised the Kunsthalle Wien, a Viennese art gallery, on copyright issues and the launch of its new online services. The team has also developed good experience advising on IT-related cases, such as keyword advertising and the third-party use of trade marks online. Other notable clients include Amazon.de and eBay Austria.

enwc Natlacen Walderdorff Cancola Attorneys at Law is strong in patent and unfair competition litigation, and in 2010 advised clients such as Ratiopharm, CSC pharmaceuticals, Nestlé Austria and Fischer Sports in contentious cases. Dieter Natlacen and Martin Prohaska-Marchried lead the team, which also features the highly rated Rainer Schultes.

Fiebinger Polak Leon Rechtsanwälte has a great track record in the life sciences and tech sectors, and in 2010 saw an up-tick in non-contentious work in this field. Clients praise the team’s ‘in-depth analysis of the legal issues and clear recommendations’. Standout work for 2010 included advising the designer shoe manufacturer Christian Louboutain in all its trade mark and product piracy cases in Austria. Constantin Kletzer heads the team, and is ‘not only knowledgeable in all fields of IP law but also for his very good understanding of the economic needs of his clients’.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is experienced in advising on IP-driven M&A transactions. Christof Pöchhacker leads the team, which advised Sony Computers in copyright infringement proceedings against the use of third-party modification chips used in Sony’s games consoles.

Sattler & Schanda is a compact firm that focuses on copyright and trade mark law and is recommended for its experience in e-commerce regulations and domain name conflicts. Lead partner Reinhard Schanda is well regarded.

Schwarz Schönherr Rechtsanwälte OEG has a solid IP business handling both contentious and non-contentious matters. Head of department Georg Schönherr is a well-respected practitioner.

Wolf Theiss had a busy 2010 advising an impressive roster of media and pharmaceutical clients, and is notable for its expertise in digital copyright cases. Georg Kresbach heads up the team, which advised the worlds largest generics manufacturer Actavis in court proceedings to overturn an injunction to sell a generic drug in Austria. Other clients include the European Central Bank and a global IT sector player.

Binder Grösswang Rechtsanwälte is recommended for trade mark and monitoring issues, and has a solid track record advising on data protection and technology and patent licence agreements. Ivo Rung leads the team.

Brauneis Klauser Prändl Rechtsanwälte GmbH has a great reputation in the market, and is particularly recommended for its expertise in patent law and product piracy proceedings before the domestic courts. The team features Martin Reinisch.

Irene Welser leads the team at CHSH Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati, which advised Toyota in two trade mark infringement actions, including one before the Supreme Patent and Trademark Senate.

Graf & Pitkowitz Rechtsanwälte GmbH is recommended for its experience defending clients in trade mark and patent infringements before the Austrian courts. Ferdinand Graf heads the team, which also features Claudia Csáky.

Hasch & Partner Anwaltsgesellschaft mbH specialises in preliminary injunctions and also has experience in international and domestic trade mark registrations. Bernhard Steindl is highly rated.

Herbst Vavrovsky Kinsky Rechtsanwälte GmbH is noted for EC trade mark, copyright, and unfair competition disputes. Christoph Herbst is the name to note.

Dr Michel Walter is a boutique firm with a solid IP offering. Felix Daum is highly rated.

Karasek Wietrzyk Rechtsanwälte GmbH’s IP group is recommended for data protection issues and contentious work. Paul Schmidinger heads the group, which advised textile manufacturer Palmers in several trade mark licensing matters.

At Lansky, Ganzger & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH, Gerald Ganzger has some first-rate media clients. In 2010 the practice assisted a subsidiary of Bertelsmann Media Group with several matters, including drafting cooperation agreements with online partners.

Mag Marcus Essl, LL.M., M.E.S has a good track record in IP matters. Practice head Marcus Essl focuses on this area, and has built up a quality boutique which acts for diverse clients including media groups, performers and religious groups.

Siemer-Siegl-Füreder & Partner, Rechtsanwälte regularly represents a major toothbrush manufacturer in relation to patent and trade mark infringement cases in Austria. Reinhard Brunar heads the team.