Intellectual property
«A company’s brand is at the heart of its economic success.»
sylvia freygner
Intellectual property and industrial property rights are among the oldest core areas of our law firm.
Our law firm has established its focus on intellectual property law with the topic of franchising.
Our clients trust in our expertise in trademark, design, patent, and copyright law, as well as in competition and licensing law.
EXPERTISE
Our law firm has specialised in franchising and licence agreements for ten years. Franchising relies on legal analogies and European legal principles and is based on the EC Block Exemption Regulation, which is exempt from antitrust law.
It is therefore important to take into account all relevant legal principles: antitrust law, intellectual property law, civil law, tenancy law, commercial agency law, European competition law, national and European public procurement law, commercial law, and general contract law.
Our services
- Contract Review
- Termination of contracts
- Establishment and development of a franchise system
- Review of compensation claims and investment reimbursement
- Drafting of franchise, commercial agency, and licensing agreements
- Legal disputes between franchisors and franchisees
TRADEMARK LAW
We operate in Liechtenstein, Austria and Switzerland and can assist you with national and international trademark law. In addition to national trademarks, we also secure EU-wide trademarks and international registrations (IR trademarks).
When required by law, we are supported by experienced trademark law experts in other countries. As a member of INTA (International Trademark Association), we have access to a global network of specialized attorneys.
We also assist you with the purchase or sale of brands, conduct negotiations, and draft contracts.
In order to avoid conflicts with existing third-party rights, a trademark application should be carefully researched and reviewed.
We accompany you throughout the entire process—from application to registration.
In trademark disputes, we represent you competently before all trademark and patent offices as well as the competent courts.
Our services
- Trademark searches
- national brand
- Title Protection Notice
- appeal process
- Prosecution of trademark infringement
- DPMA, OHIM, Federal Patent Court
- Trademark applications
- European Union trademark (EU)
- Brand license agreement
- deletion procedure
- preliminary injunctions
- brand transactions
- brand monitoring
- international trademark (IR)
- rights management
- trademark dispute
- Defense against warnings
- internationales Markenrecht
DESIGN LAW
The so-called design patent is a property right for product, graphic, textile, and fashion designs, furniture, and jewelry. It is significant for industrial color or shape design and also protects the design of packaging or products.
Our law firm will assist you in examining the protectability of a design, in the application and registration process, and in defending the design against infringements by third parties.
Our services
- design applications
- Injunction and damages
- Protection of designs and models
- Prosecution of legal violations
- Development of intellectual property strategies
- Filing of design license agreements
- Defense against unjustified warnings
- Warnings and preliminary injunctions
PATENT LAW
In patent law, we support our clients in managing their intellectual property portfolios, drafting license agreements, transferring intellectual property rights, and defending patents and utility models.
In patent disputes, we represent you competently before the Austrian, Liechtenstein, Swiss, and European trademark and patent offices, as well as before all courts. If urgency is required, we also obtain preliminary injunctions, even on weekends if necessary, for example, to prohibit use at a trade fair.
Our services
- Patents and utility models
- Intellectual property strategies
- patent exploitation
- appeal process
- Licensing of patents
- Transfer of patents
- rights management
- employee inventions
- Prosecution of patent infringements
- appeal process
- Actions for annulment
- authorization requests
- Warnings
- Preliminary injunctions
- Defense against attacks
- Representation before the DPMA, OHIM, and Federal Patent Court
«Taxes can be controlled.»
IP BOX &
TAX PLANNING
Our law firm not only brings together Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, but also the legal fields of intellectual property and taxation.
We advise our clients on protecting their intangible assets, structuring their license income for tax purposes, and setting up corporate structures.
Due to new European and OECD guidelines, it is becoming increasingly difficult to set up an IP box in Europe. Only a few countries—such as Switzerland and Luxembourg—still have the legal institution of the “IP box” for tax optimization of licensing income.
We support our clients in the tax structuring of their intellectual property rights in national and international corporate law structures.
We also establish licensing models and licensing societies.
We support you in setting up an IP box and
the associated tax and legal
benefits.
Our services
- Tax structuring
- Preparation of license agreements
- Design of IP box solutions
- Establishment of corporate structures
ANTITRUST LAW
Our law firm offers expertise in contracts relating to competition and intellectual property law, such as distribution, licensing, and franchise agreements.
We advise on antitrust issues, abuse of dominant market position, and state aid proceedings.
We review the admissibility of sales and advertising measures as well as public subsidies.
We are at your side in competition law disputes as well as in obtaining preliminary injunctions.
We also represent you before national and international competition authorities.
We assist our clients with competition law planning, coordination, and execution of national and international M&A transactions, as well as with all matters relating to merger control.
Our services
- merger control
- Antitrust review of contracts
- State aid law review of public subsidies
LICENSING RIGHTS
When using and exploiting intellectual property, it is important to carefully draft license agreements.
Anyone who transfers their intellectual property to third parties or uses the intellectual property of others should clearly agree on all rights and obligations in advance.
We support our clients with our expertise in drafting contracts.
Our services
- Trademark law
- patent license agreement
- Licences in franchising
- protection of know-how
- copyright
- software licenses
- sports licenses
- design law
- license trading
- technology transfer
COPYRIGHT
We represent our clients’ copyright interests both in and out of court.
We draft, review, and evaluate license agreements and advise on contract design to avoid future conflicts.
However, the judicial enforcement of ancillary copyrights and copyrights, as well as the defense against unjustified claims and the obtaining of preliminary injunctions, are also essential aspects of copyright law.
Our services
- license agreements
- rights management
- contract drafting
- Copyright review
- Deposit of works
- Development of protection strategies
- Injunction and damages
- Warning letter & injunction
- Defense against unjustified warnings
- Prosecution of copyright infringements
DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS
Our law firm has specialized in franchising for over ten years and thus in the development of global distribution and licensing systems.
In distribution law, it is important to weigh up which form of distribution network is both economically and legally efficient.
We distinguish between sales representative, franchise, and licensing models.
We work closely with our clients to carefully consider which business model will be most successful for them, both in terms of country and product specifics.
In doing so, we take national, European, and international regulations into account and combine them with our expertise in tax and corporate law.
Our services
- System design
- Location analyses
- Drafting of contracts
- Preparation of manuals
- Profitability calculations
- Establishment of a sales and operational organization
COMPETITION LAW
Not every imitation is unlawful, nor is every violation of the law anti-competitive.
The Unfair Competition Act (UWG) is intended to enable fair competition between parties, both in advertising and in business conduct.
If a competitor uses unfair methods or gains competitive advantages by dishonest means, we enforce our clients’ rights, if necessary with preliminary injunctions.
Our services
- Warnings
- Website-Checks
- Food law
- injunctions
- Obligations in business transactions
- Review of advertising campaigns
- Defense against unauthorized attacks
- Prohibition of unfair competition
- Medicine advertising law
- Comparative advertising
- preliminary injunctions
- Protection against imitation
