Herbst Kinsky has advised GoStudent on the acquisition of FoxEducation Services GmbH.

Schoenherr has advised Vienna-based Wienerberger on the EUR 81.25 million treasury shares placement with institutional investors. Clifford Chance advised the joint bookrunners J.P. Morgan, Erste Group, and UniCredit on the deal. 

An unregistered community design is established merely by the disclosure of a design and triggers protection for three years from the date of disclosure. This informal right was created to satisfy the demands of the industry and creatives for a design protection right providing broad-ranging territorial protection and safety for short-lived products without an elaborate and costly registration procedure.

Patents and innovation are closely linked. Patents can boost innovation by granting a legal monopoly over certain technology, and inventors may be willing to invest more time, money and creativity into their inventions if they can do this in anticipation of being rewarded with such monopoly on their invention. Furthermore, patents boost future innovation because the technology protected by a patent will be made publicly available and can be used by everyone once the patent protection term expires. However, patents may even hinder innovation, because technology and its further-development could be blocked by existing patents.

Schoenherr has advised Austrian oral hygiene start-up Playbrush on its sale of a majority stake to Switzerland-based international healthcare company Sunstar Group. Baker McKenzie advised the buyer on the transaction.

Cerha Hempel has advised Vienna-based Value One on the sale of Krieau grandstand Tribune 3 to Red Bull Media House. Schoenherr advised the buyer on the transaction.

Former Cerha Hempel Senior Partner Edith Hlawati has been appointed as the sole member of the Management Board of Oesterreichische Beteiligungs AG.

Few global industries have been as strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as the hotel industry. All over the world, chains and bespoke hoteliers have had to face the impact of travel restrictions on bookings, in most cases leading to dire falls in occupancy rates and, subsequently, income. Now that the pandemic has been wreaking havoc for over a year, how is the hotel industry in CEE coping, and what options do hoteliers have? We spoke with three CMS Partners – Ana Radnev, Gregor Famira, and Lukas Hejduk – to get their opinions on the current situation and outlook on the future of the sector.

Schoenherr has advised Bitpanda on a EUR 224 million Series C investment round led by Valar Ventures that included LeadBlock Partners, Jump Capital, Alan Howard, and Redo Ventures.

The global pandemic has impacted all markets, with subsequent ramifications for M&A. Investors are now seeking greater protection against general lock-downs and supply-chain disruptions, while governments aim to protect critical supplies and services by imposing new regulations on foreign investment in crucial or strategic industries.

The hype surrounding NFTs and crypto assets appears infinite and is raising more and more questions and challenges for the legal profession in Austria and beyond.

Herbst Kinsky has advised SoftBank Investment Advisers on a USD 120 million Series D investment round in Adverity, together with Sapphire Ventures.

Karolin Andreewitch and Philipp Schrader have made Partner at E+H in Austria.

PHH has advised Austrian Nuki Home Solutions and its existing shareholders on a EUR 20 million financing round which included existing investors Up to Eleven Digital Solutions GmbH, Venta, Fortuna, and new investor Cipio Partners.

Herbst Kinsky has advised Austrian refurbished electrical product retailer Refurbed on its EUR 45.5 million Series B investment provided by Evli Growth Partners and Almaz Capital, as well as SevenVentures, Bonsai Partners, Speedinvest, and All Iron Ventures, among others. E+H advised SevenVentures on the deal.

Binder Grosswang has advised BNP Paribas on the sale of Austria’s largest online broker Hello Bank! to Bawag P.S.K. Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner advised the buyer.

To mint NFT art, you need to have enough cryptocurrency in your wallet (and even more to buy it). A successful NFT artist could then also pay his or her studio assistants in cryptocurrency from the proceeds of the sales. Cryptocurrency therefore plays an obvious part in a blockchain-based business. But is this also true from an employment law perspective? Can or should remuneration be paid in a cryptocurrency? Let's take a closer look at this question by examining the interface between the crypto world and the physical world from an Austrian employment law perspective.

In short, an NFT (non-fungible token) is a set of data stored on a blockchain (a digital ledger), that certifies a digital asset as unique and thus non-fungible. Assets can be tangible (real estate) or intangible (IP rights).