Individuals and companies register their innovations and creations with the Swiss Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) in order to protect them from being copied: inventions are patented, names registered as logos or trade marks and shapes as designs. The IPI maintains the public register for the management of IP rights and informs the general public about the possibilities of protecting intellectual property.
The IPI is the federal government’s centre of competence for all issues concerning patent and trade mark protection, indications of source, design protection and copyright.