The Federal Council wants to modernise the Swiss patent system and adapt it to international standards. It opened the consultation procedure on the partial revision of the Patents Act on 14 October 2020. The consultation proposes that a patent should only be granted if the invention to be patented is novel and innovative. This would lead to more legal certainty and increase the value of...

Switzerland yesterday ratified the constitutional reform of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), thereby accepting an institutional reform drawn up by the member states. The reform amends ten international treaties to which Switzerland is a party, such as the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Patent Cooperation Treaty.“The constitutional reform of...

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...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the technology at the centre of the fourth industrial revolution. It is already having an impact on daily life around the world, and equally is influencing intellectual property. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has published a Revised Issues Paper on Intellectual Property Policy and Artificial Intelligence. Within the framework of an open-ended...

At their General Assembly, the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) appointed Daren Tang of Singapore as the new Director General. He will succeed Francis Gurry, who has led the organisation for twelve years. Mr Tang’s six-year term of office will begin on 1 October. With reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, the new Director General emphasised that, more than...

In response to criticism from the US entertainment industry, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) placed Switzerland on a ‘watch list’ in 2016 in its annual report on countries that insufficiently protect American IP interests (the Special 301 Report). The USA argued that it was not sufficiently possible to enforce copyright on the internet in Switzerland. In recognition of amendments to...

Every 26 April marks World Intellectual Property Day. This year, the focus is on how innovation can create a green future and the various ways in which IP can be used to achieve this. Intellectual property has a key role to play in tackling climate change. “New climate-friendly innovations and new ways of thinking are urgently required to tackle the climate crisis and achieve a green future,”...

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 Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) is launching the certification course CAS IP Law this autumn. The course was developed in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI). The goal of the cooperation is to foster knowledge about intellectual property. The IPI supported the ZHAW in the conception of the course and is also providing several experts as...

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...