Modifying your application
There may be a number of reasons why your application has not been accepted:
- There may be formal deficiencies, e.g. your goods and services are not correctly classified (see The List of Goods and Services), or the representation of the trade mark is not sufficient.
- There may be substantive deficiencies, e.g. perhaps your trade mark is deceptive or isn’t distinctive (see Requirements for protection).
We'll inform you in writing about the nature of the problem. Please feel free to contact us. We'll work with you to find a solution so that your trade mark can be registered – for example, you may have to alter the trade mark or the list of goods and services. Associated correspondence or telephone calls do not incur any extra costs.
Good to know:
Trade mark applications can be modified free of charge during the registration process.
Please note, however, that certain amendments to your application will cause the filing date to be postponed.
If your trade mark fails to meet the legal requirements despite our joint efforts, we must conclusively reject your application.
For example:
The bicycle manufacturer Perrin applies to register its trade mark Beltina swissmade on 4 October 2015. However, as the bicycles it manufactures are not made in Switzerland, we consider the trade mark to be misleading. Perrin therefore changes its trade mark to Beltina and notifies us on 12 March 2016. Its request for registration is accepted and the trade mark is protected from 12 March 2016 onwards.