+43 1 218 44 40
Urgent · Fast response on business days

Received a copyright cease-and-desist letter?
We respond — before the deadline runs out.

A cease-and-desist letter is not a trivial matter. Signing the enclosed cease-and-desist undertaking unchecked risks economic damage many times the original demand. On business days we respond quickly — within 24 hours at the latest — and answer the cease-and-desist letter on time.

  • Fast on business days — within 24 hours
  • Hourly rate €380 net · typical total effort 2h
Recognised 2024 – 2026
  • TOP2026 DER STANDARD · Statista TOP Law Firm 2026 — Trademark & Unfair Competition Law
  • JUVE Ranking IP/IT 2025 — ranked: IP and copyright law JUVE Ranking IP/IT Ranked 2025 — IP, Trademark & Copyright Law
  • AI Awards 2024 — Leading Civil Litigation Lawyer of the Year, Austria AI Awards 2024 Leading Civil Litigation Lawyer of the Year — Austria
How we proceed

From the first call to a tailored strategy and solution

A copyright cease-and-desist letter often comes with short deadlines and can trigger significant cost risks. The enclosed cease-and-desist undertaking should therefore never be signed unchecked. We keep the free initial assessment clearly separate from the further legal work — that only follows once you actually engage us after the initial conversation.

  1. 01

    Free initial assessment

    You call, we take time for a brief general assessment — plausibility of the demand, rough range, urgency of action.

    The initial assessment is free and non-binding. Only after the call do you decide whether to engage us for the further work.

  2. 02

    Document review & fact-finding

    Once engaged, you forward the cease-and-desist letter and background on the actual use. On that basis we examine standing, protectability, limitation, the amount demanded, and the strategic room for response.

  3. 03

    Strategy & cease-and-desist undertaking

    In most cases a modified cease-and-desist undertaking is the commercially smartest route. It eliminates the risk of repetition without locking you into overly broad penalty clauses. In parallel we work out the best strategic response to the damages claim — tailored to the actual use and your willingness to accept risk.

  4. 04

    Out-of-court resolution — court only if needed

    The goal is to resolve the matter quickly, cost-effectively and out of court. If the other side does take the matter to court contrary to expectations, we represent you with decades of litigation experience — from preliminary-injunction proceedings to main-stage proceedings, through all instances if needed.

What you can realistically expect

Transparent fees — realistic outcomes

We don't make outcome promises — that would be problematic under professional rules and also dishonest. What we can tell you: from our experience with many copyright cease-and-desist letters, the economic impact can usually be reduced significantly.

Fees

Hourly rate €380 net. Typical total effort for standard cease-and-desist letters: 2 hours. This includes analysing the matter against the actual use, jointly setting the strategy and explaining all steps and alternatives, plus the response to the other side including a cease-and-desist undertaking.

Range of demands

From our practice: copyright cease-and-desist letters typically range between €4,000 and €15,000. With higher demands the room for negotiation is usually greater than with low flat amounts. Lawyer fees and default interest often come on top.

Strategic goal

Pay as little as possible and minimise litigation risk. Which path gets us there — modified undertaking, waiting defence or targeted counter-argumentation — we decide together with you.

Commercial outcome

Our fee plus the amount you ultimately owe is typically substantially below the original demand — especially with limited usage and higher starting demands. No guarantees, but the pattern is consistent.

Typical case types

What clients come to us with

Copyright cease-and-desist letters hit businesses and private individuals alike — often in areas that seem unremarkable. The most frequent triggers from our practice:

Website elements

Fonts without a web-font licence, templates with restricted usage rights, open-source code without licence attribution.

Texts & descriptions

Adopted product texts, blog articles, newsletter content — increasingly the subject of cease-and-desist letters in online shops too.

Your team for copyright law

Two specialised attorneys. One phone number.

Dr. Bernhard Tonninger and Mag. Dr. Markus Albrecht working on a shared mandate
Your contacts

Dr. Bernhard Tonninger

Attorney-at-Law · Partner

Over two decades of practical copyright experience. Co-author of the Manz comprehensive commentary urheber.recht (3rd ed. 2023, sections 3, 73–75, 85 and 90 UrhG); regular annotations on Supreme Court decisions in ecolex and ÖBl. Regular representation in copyright matters out of court as well as before the Austrian regional courts and the Vienna Commercial Court, and on appeal before the OLG and the OGH.

Mag. Dr. Markus Albrecht

Attorney-at-Law · Partner

Partner with focus on trademark, unfair-competition and copyright law. Co-author of the Manz comprehensive commentary urheber.recht (3rd ed. 2023, sections 66–72 UrhG); regular contributions on copyright matters. Strong focus on copyright cease-and-desist letters, copyright contracts and questions around the Austrian storage-media remuneration scheme (SMV). Regular representation in copyright matters out of court as well as before the Austrian regional courts and the Vienna Commercial Court, and on appeal before the OLG and the OGH.

In day-to-day advisory work both partners are your contacts; in complex and larger proceedings — like our cases on storage-media remuneration (SMV) against austromechana — we combine forces. Even during holiday periods, someone in the firm who knows your case is always reachable.

+43 1 218 44 40 office@ts.at
Frequently asked questions

What clients want to know in urgent situations

How quickly do I get help?
On business days we typically respond to emergency requests within a few hours — a written initial assessment follows within 24 hours at the latest. For tight deadlines please call us directly — we discuss the next steps with you on the phone immediately.
What kind of demands are typical?
From our practice: copyright cease-and-desist letters typically range between €4,000 and €15,000. With higher demands the room for negotiation is usually greater than with low flat-rate amounts. On top of that, the sender's lawyer fees and default interest are often added. Special cases: music in Reels/TikTok is covered on /en/music-cease-and-desist-social-media, photo cease-and-desist letters on /en/photo-cease-and-desist.
What does it cost to consult Tonninger Schermaier & Partner?
A short general initial assessment by phone is free of charge. For the actual case-handling we usually agree a flat fee based on our hourly rate of €380 net per hour. With a typical total effort of 2 hours, that flat fee comes to around €760 net. This includes analysing the matter against the actual use, jointly setting the strategy and explaining all steps and alternative courses of action, as well as the response to the other side including a cease-and-desist undertaking.
Should I just pay to make it go away?
Simply paying is rarely the right approach with copyright cease-and-desist letters. The demanded amounts are often significantly inflated — especially with short usage, limited reach or questionable standing on the part of the sender. With the right strategy, the economic impact can usually be reduced substantially. In our experience, paying without checking almost always means overpaying.
What happens if the deadline expires?
If the deadline is missed, the other side typically files a claim at the Vienna Commercial Court or another competent regional court. If no cease-and-desist undertaking has been given, the usual value in dispute under the Austrian fee guidelines (AHK) for copyright matters is €57,000, which translates into court and lawyer fees accordingly. Five-figure sums add up quickly. That's why it's important to act quickly and strategically in such cases to minimise costs and risk. Please get in touch as soon as possible.
Do I really not have to sign the enclosed cease-and-desist undertaking?
Never sign it unchecked. The pre-formulated undertakings that come with cease-and-desist letters are regularly drafted heavily in favour of the sender — with overly broad waivers, excessive penalty clauses and inflated licence and cost demands. A modified undertaking drafted by counsel limits the obligation to the conduct actually challenged, so you don't take on excessive obligations for the future. On that basis the right strategy for handling the cost demands can also be developed.
Can I rebut part of the claim?
Often, yes — especially licence demands are frequently strongly inflated. Here it's necessary to pursue the strategy that fits your case. We also check, of course, whether the demand exists at all in the first place. Possible angles include limitation periods, lack of standing, lack of protectability of the allegedly infringed work, and exhaustion of rights. Which strategy we recommend depends on reviewing the actual documents in your specific case.
What are my chances of getting the amount reduced?
In our long-standing practice the economic impact can be significantly reduced in most cases — how far depends on the actual use, the sender's standing and your willingness to accept some risk. We can't give a guarantee (that would be problematic under our professional rules and also dishonest). What we do promise: a well-founded assessment of your position and the right strategy on that basis. As a rule that also pays off financially for you.
What if the other side files a claim anyway, or has already done so?
We represent you in court too — from preliminary-injunction proceedings to defending main-stage civil litigation, through all instances if needed. We have decades of litigation experience. In any procedural situation we remain open to settlement negotiations in your interest, where these are possible with the other side. Whether a settlement also makes commercial sense and should be concluded is something you decide, of course, after detailed advice.

Deadline approaching?

Pick up the phone — we discuss your options immediately. A first assessment costs nothing.

Call +43 1 218 44 40 office@ts.at