EUROPE Law Firm of the Year - Intellectual Property and Trademarks Austria
Firm Profile
schmid-ip is a Vienna based IP boutique law firm with a focus on trademarks and intellectual property law and litigation.
„When I founded schmid-ip in 2007, I had seven years of working experience in three excellent law firms of all sizes, four years of which I had worked exclusively in the field of IP. My idea was to create a boutique law firm with a clear trademarks and IP focus – rendering services at a ‘big law firm’ level but with a personal approach, and tailored individually for the clients' needs,“ says founder Dr. Katharina Schmid.
At schmid-ip, we believe that quality matters more than size. IP law is a field of law that’s particularly apt for boutique law firm structures: Clients often don’t require (nor wish to pay for) a number of lawyers to serve their needs, but only "the one" lawyer who knows and understands their business and the (case) law and will help them solving their legal issues swiftly and cost-effectively. This is what schmid-ip is meant to be for our clients.
Of course, there are also cases that require a larger team, and we want to ensure the best service and continuity for our clients in handling their matters. Therefore, schmid-ip is not acting alone, but cooperating with a qualified network of local cooperation partners in the same office, so we can also work in larger teams whenever required.
What we do - in a nutshell – is actually what our firm’s slogan says: „schmid-ip - trademarks and more IP, advertising competition and internet law“: To be more precise, in the field of „Trademarks“, schmid-ip provides the full service range from prosecution to litigation. The firm’s services include the handling of trademark portofolios, the registration, prosecution, enforcement and renewals of trademarks before the Austrian Patent Office, OHIM and the WIPO; trademark watching services, oppositions, invalidation and revocation actions against Austrian and Community trade marks; and litigation and anti-counterfeiting lawsuits.
In the area of IP other than trade marks, the firm’s specialities comprise industrial designs, copyright and software protection, as well as domain names and conflicts. Furthermore, Dr. Katharina Schmid is the co-author of a legal commentary on Austrian Unfair Competition law (appeared as 2nd edition in 2012) and a number of publications in the field of trademarks. She regularly advises in the field of advertising and unfair competition law. schmid-ip‘s [IP] work of course also comprises a great deal of contract negotiations and
contract drafting, e.g. of trademark coexistence and delimitation agreements, or software and license agreements.
We should also note that, over the years, internet law, e-commerce and data protection law have become another important focus of ours, and our IP clients often require advice particularly in these fields, too.
Client Structure
We are proud to receive a lot of high profile work both from our local clients in Austria as well as from international companies and multinationals, mostly as international referrals. We also act as local Agent directly for a couple of international clients. Both the international work experience of Dr. Katharina Schmid and our enrollment in international IP associations [membership with INTA, LES and GRUR and regular attendance of meetings and conferences] certainly help in maintaining and growing our network and understanding international clients better.
In the recent past, the firm’s biggest successes included an amicable settlement of a multi-jurisdictional conflict between an Austrian boutique hotel chain and the owners of a luxury hotel brand, taking over responsibilty of the trademark portfolio of an Austrian retailing and service company, the negotiation of an IT and software outsourcing contract on behalf of a telecommunications service provider, or successfully defending a client’s mark for traditional furniture in a complex revocation action.
Receiving the award, makes us proud and happy. We would like to say many thanks to all our supporters! We appreciate that our IP boutique law firm is also noticed on an international level, and even in the context of mergers and acquisitions. This also shows that IP law is getting ever more important.
Contact: schmid-ip
Mariahilferstrasse 20 1070 Vienna Austria
Tel: +43 (0) 1 521 75-0 Fax: +43 (0) 1 890 05 17 Email:
office@schmid-ip.at Website:
www.schmid-ip.at
Dr. Katharina Schmid Rechtsanwältin | Attorney at Law
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