Novelty and inventive step are requirements for a patent to be valid. However, there is no examination for these in the Swiss granting procedure. In Switzerland, a patent is granted without guarantee and can therefore be subsequently declared invalid if a third party appeals against it.
We therefore strongly advise you to verify the novelty and inventive step of your invention yourself or have it verified for you before or after applying to patent your invention.

• You can carry out initial research on the internet. Search for the features of your invention via search engines. You can also carry out a simple search in patent literature. Remember to take into account specialist literature, product catalogues and trade shows, too.
  You can find further information under searching for patents yourself and patent searches.
• An Assisted Patent Search provides an inexpensive initial overview of the state of the art (also known as the prior art) in relation to your invention.
• As soon as you have applied to patent your invention, you can request a Swiss Patent Application Search or an International-Type Search. 
• A patent attorney or a private search service provider would be happy to help you verify this.