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Register a Trademark in Austria

Register a Trademark in Austria

Investors who want to protect their distinctive company logos can register a trademark in Austria. This is an important step because it provides sole usage rights for a distinct and original type of trademark.

One of our lawyers in Austria can give you details on the main laws governing trademark registration and intellectual protection rights in the country. We can also help you if you are a foreign investor interested in knowing more about international trademark protection. 

Prerequisites for trademark registration in Austria

Investors in Austria can apply for a national or an international trademark registration with the Patent Office in Austria. For international trademarks, protection is awarded within the European Union and more than ninety other countries worldwide. 

Before submitting the application, company owners in Austria must conduct a trademark similarity search. The first and foremost condition of a trademark is to not infringe any existing ones.

A trademark has a validity period of ten years and renewal is possible. Austrian trademarks that are not used for a continuous period of five years can be revoked.

Applications for trademark registration may be filed using a power of attorney. For this purpose, an original and certified copy of the power of attorney must be filed together with the other documents needed for trademark registration. One of our lawyers in Austria can give you more details on how you can use a power of attorney if you cannot be present in the country.

Citizenship in Austria is a status with many benefits, including the Austrian passport, with free visas in over 192 countries. In order to benefit from this status, we recommend that you contact one of our lawyers in Austria who will be able to represent you from a legal point of view in this endeavor. We prepare the documents and collaborate with the relevant immigration authorities to ensure the smooth running of the process for the clients.

The trademark registration procedure in Austria

Applications for trademark registration in Austria are submitted to the Patent Office. The submitted design is inspected and, if approved and registered, it is published and then it may be opposed for a period of three months. The approval period varies, and it can last between three or four weeks.

Certain fees apply both for the Austrian trademark registration and for the international trademark registration.

Trademark registration is important for a company’s image as well as for its ability to distinguish its goods from those provided by other businesses in the country.

The protection of intellectual property in Austria

Companies that enter the Austrian market can ensure the protection of their unique inventions or characteristic trademarks by registering their inventions/company designs and others with the Patent Office.

The following may be registered with one of the national intellectual property offices in Austria:

– company labels, trademarks, designs;

– industrial designs;

– utility models;

– patents;

– copyrights. 

Applicants should know that patents and utility models benefit from protection on a territorial, being limited to one state and also subject to a maximum period of protection.

Different validity periods apply for different elements, designs or inventions, as per the laws that govern their registration. One of our lawyers in Austria can help you with information about individual protection for creative expressions and inventions. 

Laws governing intellectual protection in Austria

The law in Austria protects the following types of property:

– patents: through the Patent Law, with a validity of 20 years;

– trademarks: through the Trademark Protection law, with a validity of 10 years and the ability to extend;

– copyright: Federal Law on Copyright, with a validity of approximately 70 years after the death of the author;

– designs and industrial models: through the Designs Law and other federal laws, with a validity of 10 and 5 years with the ability to extend it.

Austria has signed many international agreements for the guarantee of intellectual protection and it is also a member of several international organizations that grant intellectual protection rights. Foreign investors in Austria who wish to validate existing patents in the country can do so by following a specific procedure. One of our lawyers in Austria can help you with the validation procedure.

You can contact our law firm in Austria for complete legal assistance for trademark registration and protection.