Buying counterfeits costs consumers huge sums of money. The corresponding trade damages the good reputation of Swiss companies and reduces their turnover by billions each year. As a result, in 2018, Switzerland forfeited over 10,000 jobs. For the first time, a new study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has provided concrete figures on the issue. Global trade...

Switzerland is the most innovative country in the world for the tenth consecutive year. This is the result of the Global Innovation Index 2020 (GII), based on an assessment of 131 economies worldwide. Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom are next in the rankings. Compared to the EU, Switzerland outperforms in all areas. Switzerland exceeds expectations when it comes to transforming...

Trade marks in Switzerland continue to be popular. More than 17,000 applications for trade marks were received by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) in 2019, which is slightly more than the previous year. There are now more than 500,000 trade marks in force nationally. Applications for design rights, on the other hand, have remained stable, while the number of patent...

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,...

On 23 May, companies from all over Switzerland gathered at the SEF.Wachstum (meaning ‘growth’) event. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) was present as a partner organisation with an exhibition stand. During the ‘SpeedDating4Growth’ part of the programme, experts from the IPI answered questions about protecting innovation. “Some attendees asked about current issues...

Almost 1 ,000 trade marks were applied for at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) in 2018. As a result, there are now more than 500 000 trade marks in force for the first time in Switzerland. Registering a trade mark protects companies from free-riders, although trade marks are not the only thing that companies and private individuals can apply to register. This is also...

Our newsletter (available in German and French) provides up-to-date information from the IPI's trade mark division,  in particular  on developments in trade mark practice. You can read the current edition here: Newsletter 2018/05 in GermanNewsletter 2018/05 in French Would you like to subscribe free of charge to this or other newsletters? Then register here to keep up to date.  

Our newsletter (available in German and French) provides up-to-date information from the IPI's trade mark division,  in particular  on developments in trade mark practice. You can read the current edition here: Newsletter 2018/04 in GermanNewsletter 2018/04 in French Would you like to subscribe free of charge to this or other newsletters? Then register here to keep up to date.  

Our newsletter (available in German and French) provides up-to-date information from the IPI's trade mark division,  in particular  on developments in trade mark practice. You can read the current edition here: Newsletter 2018/02-03 in GermanNewsletter 2018/02-03 in French Would you like to subscribe free of charge to this or other newsletters? Then register here to keep up to date.  

Our newsletter (available in German and French) provides up-to-date information from the IPI's trade mark division,  in particular  on developments in trade mark practice. You can read the current edition here: Newsletter 2018/01 in GermanNewsletter 2018/01 in French Would you like to subscribe free of charge to this or other newsletters? Then register here to keep up to date.  

Due to the high number of Swiss applications for the registration of trade marks, the time limit for the initial examination is usually increased to four months from the date of the payment of the filing fee and any class surcharges. Within this time limit, we will either confirm that your trade mark is to be accepted for registration in the trade mark register or inform you of any deficiencies...

As of 20 November 2017, national designs entered in the Swiss design register are also available in Designview. This multilingual and user-friendly search tool is provided by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). It offers access to the registered designs of all participating national offices – generally patent and trade mark offices – as well as the interregional offices EUIPO,...