For IP professionals
This is the portal for professionals working in the field of intellectual property. Here you'll find direct access to all necessary resources.
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All IP rights at a glance
You can protect your intellectual property from being plagiarised. Such protection allows you to prevent others from using your intellectual property. As a result, your innovations and creations become a tradeable commodity, which you can sell, licence or pledge.
Protected all around
One timepiece – various IP rights. With the help of this example, we'll show you what can be protected and how – as well as what's automatically protected.
Indications of source
This timepice is Swiss made. Indications of source such as "Swiss made" are important selling points that may only be used if they reflect the actual geographical source of the products or services.
Patents
The inventors of the second hand protected their invention from misuse by patenting it. A patent protects this type of invention as well as any product or process that is new or has been optimised.
Trade marks
You can protect company and product names as well as logos as a trade mark for particular goods and services. so that competitors can't manufacture and market watches or movements under the same or a similar name.
Designs
The design is what makes a product distinctive. Just like with this timepiece, the case in its entirety together with the watch face and the characteristic central chronograph hand are what makes it unique.
Designs like this can be protected if they are new and sufficiently different to existing ones.
Counterfeiting and piracy
No economic sector is spared from the work of counterfeiters and pirates. The assortment of fakes and imitations includes everything from medicines, spare parts, CDs and DVDs, to food products and cosmetics.
Copyright
Copyright protects literary and artistic works. This not only includes works by well-known writers and artists, but also applies to the text of a website, its design or an advertising photo.