Trademark law

Trademarks and business names are of great importance to a company and often represent considerable value. Trademarks are often indispensable for the commercial success of goods and services and their differentiation from the competition. We work with you to develop a strategic concept to protect your trademarks and company names and represent you in application and opposition proceedings before the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), the Federal Patent Court, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In the event of an infringement of your trademark rights, we represent your interests both out of court and, if necessary, in summary and main proceedings.

Focal points:

• Examination of the registrability of your trademark, comprehensive advice on the choice of trademark forms to be considered in the specific case and preparation of lists of goods and services
• Examination of the registrability of your trademark, comprehensive advice on the choice of trademark forms to be considered in the specific case and preparation of lists of goods and services
• Registration of national trademarks (DPMA) and European Union trademarks (EUIPO) as well as international registrations of national trademarks and European Union trademarks (WIPO)
• Protecting your interests in opposition and appeal proceedings before the DPMA and EUIPO
• Extrajudicial and judicial enforcement of your trademark and other labeling rights
• Initiating border seizures in trademark piracy cases
• Advice on contractual issues and drafting of license agreements

Design law

Design law can be used to protect the external, aesthetic design of a product or part of a product. We advise you on how you can protect the design of your products in Germany, the European Union or worldwide and represent you in the event of an infringement of your design rights.

Focal points:

• Examination of the protectability of your designs and advice on the possible protection of your design in individual cases
• Examination of the protectability of your designs and advice on the possible protection of your design in individual cases
• Application for national registered designs (DPMA), registered European Community designs (EUIPO) and IR designs under the Hague Agreement (WIPO)
• Extrajudicial and judicial enforcement of your design rights
• Border seizure procedure
• Enforcement of your rights at trade fairs
• Advice on contractual issues and drafting of license agreements
• Design monitoring / Design monitoring

Competition law

The Unfair Competition Act (UWG) is intended to help secure and guarantee free and undistorted competition. Competition law disputes are often based on cases of misleading advertising and product imitations. We advise you on the requirements and risks from a competition law perspective as early as the development of advertising measures, but also during the market launch of product and packaging designs as well as during the creation and operation of an online store. We pursue anti-competitive behavior of your competitors out of court and in court and defend you against unjustified warnings from competitors or associations.

Focal points:

• Comprehensive advice on developing your marketing and advertising measures and checking their compliance with the relevant provisions of the UWG
• Legal review of your website and online store
• Reviewing, adapting and creating new general terms and conditions and data protection declarations
• Extrajudicial and judicial prosecution of competition law infringements by a competitor
• Defense against unjustified warnings or claims asserted by competitors in court

Copyright

We represent internationally renowned product designers and authors in copyright matters. We advise you on the exploitation of your copyrighted works. To this end, we draft, review and negotiate all types of license agreements and other contractual agreements on the granting and transfer of rights of use. In the event of infringements of your copyrights, for example through unauthorized imitations, we represent your interests both in and out of court.

Focal points:

• Comprehensive examination of the copyright protectability of your work and determination of the specific scope of protection
• Comprehensive examination of the copyright protectability of your work and determination of the specific scope of protection
• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating license agreements on the granting and transfer of rights of use
• Advice and representation in the event of legal violations on the Internet
• Judicial and extrajudicial enforcement of your copyright claims

Your contact person:

Andreas Hauck(hauck@steinpichler.de)