Content is constantly being posted and shared on the internet these days – whether on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. In doing so, however, other people’s photos are often being used without permission. Yet as easy as it is to post and share photos on these platforms, as easy as it is to infringe someone else’s copyright. The Copyright Act protects all photographs regardless of whether they have...

Thanks to tablets and laptops, you can consume films and series anytime, anywhere. If you are abroad, however, the screen often remains black due to what is known as geo-blocking. The EU has taken individual measures to this end. The OTM examined what the situation is like for Swiss nationals staying abroad as part of the Digital Switzerland Action Plan. For example, online content services...

With WIPO PROOF, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched a global online service that provides proof of the existence of a digital file at a specific point in time. The new service complements WIPO’s existing intellectual property systems by helping creators to take verifiable measures to better protect the results of their work. The system is intended to reduce the...

Whether an artistic photograph, an amateur snap, or a standard product photo – under the modernised Copyright Act (CopA) all photos are now protected, whether analogue or digital, or taken by an amateur or a professional. This applies whether the photographs have individual character or not. The extended protection for photographs is one of the main changes in the new Copyright Act. It comes into...

The revised Copyright Act strengthens the rights of creative artists and cultural industries, as well as facilitating research. The Federal Council put into force the revised act, which adapts the applicable law to technological developments, as of 1 April 2020. Further information can be found in the Federal Council's media release (only available in German, French and Italian).

On 11th February 2020, Switzerland ratified two agreements of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The Beijing Treaty improves protection for actors at international level by enabling them to make a case against any unauthorised use of their performances. Actors already have this level of protection at national level. The Marrakesh Treaty improves access to copyright-protected...

The Swiss courts regularly deal with cases concerning intellectual property law. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) has now published statistics on the court rulings.   The figures on IP rights in 2018 show, for example, that the most court decisions by far are made in the area of trade mark law (57%). This is followed by copyright law (27%) and patent law (9%).   ...

Industries in Switzerland that make intensive use of intellectual property rights (IPR) contribute significantly to employment and the gross domestic product (GDP). This is the conclusion of a European study that has just been published. The European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have examined the role IP rights play in economic performance,...

From 1 January 2018, the new IPI directive for the supervision of the collective rights management organisations comes into force. It sets out guidelines for the IPI as supervisory authority when reviewing the management of the collective rights management organisations. The new directive will apply as of the reporting for the business year 2018.  The goal of the modernisation was to bring the...