Region: Austria

Austria, Denmark and Malta have received the most trademark, PCT and design applications in the European Union, relative to their GDP, over the past year. Meanwhile, Denmark is still the top EU innovator, according to the European Commission's 2024 European Innovation Scoreboard. 

16 July 2024

Austria's Supreme Court has issued its decision in an imitation marketing dispute involving the <em>Mozartkugel</em>, a famous chocolate treat.

26 March 2018

The Austrian Supreme Court recently expressed its opinion on the extent to which a politician is entitled to his or her personality rights. In this case, the plaintiff was the long-serving Austrian minister of finance who took action against the use of his initials ‘KHG’ for a board game intended to raise public awareness of corruption.

24 October 2017

Featured in Anti-counterfeiting: A Global Guide 2017

The latest statistics for 2015 show that the number of seizures and detentions of counterfeit goods – following consecutive drops since 2012 down to 1,293 in 2014, thanks to increased information campaigns launched by Austrian Customs – rose again, doubling to 2,771. However, the number of articles seized dropped from 195,689 in 2014 to 44,832 in 2015.

18 May 2017

Featured in World Trademark Review Yearbook 2017/2018

In Austria, the national legal framework for trademarks is set out in the Trademark Protection Act (260/1970, Federal Law Gazette). Its provisions implement the EU Trademark Directive (89/104/EEC), which aimed to partially harmonise the national trademark laws of EU member states. The EU Customs Code and the Austrian Law against Product Piracy also apply.

29 March 2017

Featured in Anti-counterfeiting 2016 – A Global Guide

The latest statistics for 2014 show that, thanks to increased information campaigns launched by Austrian Customs, the number of seizures and detentions of counterfeit goods – following a historical peak of 3,201 in 2011 – dropped to 2,344 in 2012, 1,894 in 2013 and further down to 1,293 in 2014.

27 April 2016

In Austria, trademarks are governed by the Trademark Protection Act (BGBl 260/1970), which implements the EU Trademarks Directive (89/104/EEC).

18 September 2015

Featured in Anti-counterfeiting 2015 – A Global Guide

The latest statistics available for 2013 show that, thanks to increased information campaigns launched by the Austrian customs authorities, the number of incidents where counterfeit goods were seized and ultimately kept in detention – after a historical peak of 3,201 in 2011 – dropped to 2,344 in 2012 and to 1,894 in 2013.

08 May 2015

The Austrian Supreme Court has issued an interesting - and controversial - decision in a case involving Red Bull GmbH's blue and silver colour mark. Among other things, the court, referring to the case law of the ECJ, held that a demoscopic expert opinion must be obtained only in exceptional cases - that is, where there is doubt as to the degree of reputation of a mark.

18 September 2012

The Supreme Court has referred questions to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling in a case involving the use of the Austrian trademark WINTERSTEIGER as a keyword by a German advertiser on a German search engine. At issue was whether the Austrian courts had jurisdiction over the case.

24 January 2011