Today is the third and final day of Basel’s carnival, marking the end of the carnival period in Switzerland. Every city has its own customs – an early-morning lantern parade (Morgestraich) in Basel, a ‘big bang’ (Urknall) in Lucerne and a ceremonial transfer of keys in Bellinzona (Rabadan). What they all have in common is the multitude of colourful masks their participants wear.
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Preserving tradition – trade mark protection for wax masks
Masks allow people to party without being recognised, to switch roles and to criticise society. In Switzerland, wearing carnival masks is a much-loved tradition which many people practise enthusiastically every year. The company Maskenatelier Steiger and its successor Maskenfabrikat GmbH are helping to keep up the 150-year-old tradition of hand-made wax masks.
The Basel carnival in full swing (Image: iStock)
Masks allow them to party without being recognised, to switch roles and to criticise society. The grotesque face coverings encourage them to break away from conventions, and gruesome masks are said to drive away the spirits of the winter. So wearing carnival masks is a much-loved tradition in Switzerland, which many people practise enthusiastically every year.
The company Maskenatelier Steiger and its successor Maskenfabrikat GmbH are helping to keep up the 150-year-old tradition of hand-made wax masks. Its craftspeople glue various layers of cloth onto a plaster mould, paint the resulting mask after letting it dry, and then treat it with wax. These wax masks are an essential component of carnival in Schwyz. They’re worn for a traditional jester’s dance with Italian roots.
To help preserve the craft of textile wax mask-making and the special characteristics of wax masks, an association called Maskerata applied for trade mark protection for the guarantee mark ‘HANDGEDRÜCKT SEIT 1877’ (hand-crafted since 1877) in December 2023. The association is committed to ensuring that these traditional masks are preserved and worn by many. They are made using a traditional technique that has been established in Central Switzerland since at least 1877.
But what exactly is a guarantee mark? This special type of mark guarantees certain characteristics (e.g. quality) of goods or services. It is used by various companies under the supervision of the guarantee mark’s owner. Anyone whose goods or services fulfil the legally defined requirements can affix the guarantee mark to them. Samuel Schnydrig, a trade mark expert at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) and a specialist in guarantee marks, explains: “Guarantee marks are relatively rare. Their share of all registrations is still less than one percent. Common guarantee marks include SUISSE GARANTIE ((fig.)) and IP SUISSE ((fig.)).
The IP SUISSE guarantee mark may only be used to label products and services that meet the IP SUISSE requirements. Guarantee marks are particularly useful for guaranteeing common characteristics of goods or services from different companies. According to Samuel Schnydrig, these characteristics can be diverse, ranging from materials (e.g. cotton clothes) and geographical origin (Swiss products) to the type of production (organic farming) and technical properties (e.g. products with type approval testing).
Each guarantee mark is bound by regulations that govern its use. The regulations specify the owners of the mark and the common characteristics that the mark is intended to guarantee. Additionally, the regulations set out their applicability to the guarantee mark, the control mechanisms that exist and the sanctions that apply if the mark is use in an unauthorised manner. “Regulations can also be very brief,” emphasises Samuel Schnydrig. “But it’s important that all guarantee mark regulations set out the common characteristics of the goods and/or services in question, and these characteristics must be objectively clear.”
The Maskerata association registered its guarantee mark for goods in class 28, that is carnival masks, costume masks, theatrical masks and masks (playthings). From 2025 onwards, wax masks worn during carnival will bear the label that guarantees their unique characteristics. The association’s aim for the guarantee mark is not only to preserve this tradition, but also to further develop the exclusive craft of wax mask production and make it accessible to the broader public. Not only does this approach foster the handicraft, but it also ensures that a piece of living culture is passed on from generation to generation.
