Intellectual property rights play an important role in the trade agreement with India

Ursula Siegfried: The Swiss economy is heavily export orientated so the free trade agreement with India is of great importance to our country. IP protection was one of the biggest sticking points in the negotiations. Industries that make intensive use of IP rights account for a good 60 per cent of Switzerland’s gross domestic product. That’s why IP protection has always been of major interest to our country. It was therefore important for us to achieve the best possible negotiation outcome in this area. And in my opinion, we succeeded in doing so.

I’d like to highlight three results in particular. Firstly, the agreement ensures that patented exports are not discriminated against compared with products manufactured in India. Patent procedures will also be simplified and shortened, for example opposition proceedings and the mandatory reporting procedures that exist in India. Secondly, the agreement improves the protection of ‘Swissness’ in trade mark applications, which is important for many industries, especially watches, food and cosmetics. The third point concerns geographical indications. Producers can demand better protection under the free trade agreement, which creates opportunities for products such as cheese and non-agricultural products.

We achieved a lot in the negotiations on IP and are satisfied with the outcome. There are still areas in which we’re striving for further improvements, for example patenting criteria and data exclusivity protection. So we aim to continue our dialogue with India in the future.

The IPI is mandated to represent Switzerland’s interests in the area of intellectual property internationally. This includes negotiations on free trade agreements. SECO is responsible for the overall management and it leads the negotiations on the other topics in the agreement. My role was to negotiate directly with our Indian partners. The negotiations took place four times in India and once in Geneva. In between, there were countless video conferences with the Indian delegation and numerous phone calls with the chief Indian IP negotiator.

My colleagues at the IPI were also involved behind the scenes, be it during the preparations or in contact with me online while I sat at the negotiating table. Things became very hectic in the final stages. I had to bother a colleague with text and chat messages at the weekend. He dropped everything to check various text passages and make suggestions. As a result, we were able to wrap up the negotiations on that particular point just before the evening came to a close in India.

It’s said that good preparation accounts for 95 per cent of success in negotiations. During the process with India, however, we had very little time to prepare because we were under a lot of time pressure. Moreover, our stances sometimes differed greatly. Creative solutions and perseverance were needed. You have to be able to listen well and understand what the other person wants – and above all why. And then you have to present your points time and again. During the final stage of the negotiations, when it came down to the last unresolved issues, things got frantic. I was practically in constant contact with the chief Swiss negotiator by phone and text message. The positive results we obtained can be attributed to the excellent cooperation between all those involved, including the IPI and SECO. The great commitment and perseverance of the Swiss delegation significantly contributed to the conclusion of the negotiations.

Building interpersonal trust is also a key factor for successful negotiations. I regularly went for walks with my Indian colleague in the park of the Ministry of Commerce or continued our discussions over a coffee break. This allowed us not only to discuss issues further, but also to get to know each other better personally and build a trusting relationship. This helped us to overcome our differences on certain points because we understood better what the other party wanted and why, and where there was room for compromise. The mutual trust and willingness of both parties to work towards solutions and to go the extra mile to achieve them contributed greatly to the positive outcome. When you get to work together on solutions in this way, it makes the job really enjoyable.