In 2023, 16,908 national trade mark applications were filed with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI). This was a slight increase compared with 2022 (16,728). Almost 98% of applications were filed online via e-trademark. Word marks came out on top once again, accounting for more than 56% of all applications. Combined trade marks, consisting of words and images, were also...

Many industries use patents, trade marks and copyright to protect their intellectual property. At the same time, emerging companies often find it difficult to turn such intangible assets into capital to support their growth. There are some exceptions, however, as a study commissioned by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)...

As the various procedures and register maintenance work in the fields of trade marks, designs and patents have been harmonised, the IPI has drawn up new guidelines to reflect this harmonisation. These harmonised guidelines concern the sections ‘General section’, ‘Registration/grant procedure’ and ‘Register maintenance’. They were submitted to stakeholders for consultation. The IPI has also...

Our popular online services for trade marks have been expanded. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) now also offers databases for all IP rights as well as various digital services to make it easier for customers to manage their IP rights and pay fees. Here's an overview of the new online services. New databases for patents, designs and supplementary protection...

Young entrepreneurs in Switzerland often run into problems with their trade marks. With far-reaching consequences at times. You can avoid lawyers’ letters by doing a trade mark search. Read the whole story in our blog

Trade marks are a valuable asset for many companies. By registering them, companies identify their product as being their intellectual property and thereby protect themselves from free riders. In future, it will be less expensive to file a trade mark and renew its term of protection in Switzerland. The Federal Council approved the amended Fee Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Institute of...

The IPI has assisted applicants and proprietors of trade marks with professional trade mark searches for over 60 years. It has thus given clients a reliable basis for taking decisions about trade mark protection. Nowadays, people who want to search for trade marks or monitor the market are increasingly doing so themselves using free online databases. As a result, the demand for trade mark...

Pettastic has won the IPI’s IP Management Award 2022. The mini-enterprise engaged with the protection of intellectual property most intensively over the course of the Young Enterprise Switzerland (YES) one-year Company Programme. The company makes phone cases from recycled PET. Read the whole story in our blog

The topic of meat substitutes is on everyone's lips here in Switzerland, as in many countries. At the forefront of Swiss manufacturers in this field is the start-up Planted, whose success is partly due to its systematic protection of intellectual property. Read the whole story in our blog.

By means of notices dated 30 April and 29 December 2021, Germany terminated the Agreement of 13 April 1892 between Switzerland and Germany on Reciprocal Protection for Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (SR 0.232.149.136). This decision follows a judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union dated 22 October 2020 (joined cases C-720/18 and C-721/18) in which the court ruled that the above...

The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) wishes to enable its clients to register, manage and pay for trade marks, patents and designs online quickly and easily. To this end, it is gradually introducing new online services. A new platform is now available that allows trade mark applicants and holders to apply for protection in more than 120 countries. Thanks to the extension...

Swiss companies demonstrated their innovative spirit once again during the second year of the pandemic. More trade mark applications were filed in 2021 than in the previous year. Additionally, around 1,000 innovators carried out a search with the IPI to examine their inventions in detail. More trade mark applications are filed every year in Switzerland. This upward trend also continued during...

A new feature called the Global Innovation Tracker provides a snapshot of global innovation activity, including throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual Global Innovation Index evaluates the innovative performance of individual countries based on around 80 indicators. Leader in patents Back in March, the European Patent Office’s (EPO) Patent Index revealed that Switzerland was able to...

On 23 June, Startup Days (SUD) will take place in the Kursaal in Bern. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) is sponsoring the event and its experts will be on hand to answer questions about protecting innovations. In a session with the world's most famous secret agent, event participants will also learn which specific aspects of protection are relevant for start-ups looking...

Under the motto ‘IP & SMEs: taking your ideas to market’, this year's World IP Day focuses on the critical role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the economy, and how they can use IP to become more competitive and resilient. SMEs in Switzerland account for 99% of all companies. For these SMEs, too, everything started with an idea that found its way to market. When such an idea is...

Buying counterfeits costs consumers huge sums of money. The corresponding trade damages the good reputation of Swiss companies and reduces their turnover by billions each year. As a result, in 2018, Switzerland forfeited over 10,000 jobs. For the first time, a new study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has provided concrete figures on the issue. Global trade...

Switzerland is the most innovative country in the world for the tenth consecutive year. This is the result of the Global Innovation Index 2020 (GII), based on an assessment of 131 economies worldwide. Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom are next in the rankings. Compared to the EU, Switzerland outperforms in all areas. Switzerland exceeds expectations when it comes to transforming...

Trade marks in Switzerland continue to be popular. More than 17,000 applications for trade marks were received by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) in 2019, which is slightly more than the previous year. There are now more than 500,000 trade marks in force nationally. Applications for design rights, on the other hand, have remained stable, while the number of patent...

The Swiss courts regularly deal with cases concerning intellectual property law. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) has now published statistics on the court rulings.   The figures on IP rights in 2018 show, for example, that the most court decisions by far are made in the area of trade mark law (57%). This is followed by copyright law (27%) and patent law (9%).   ...

Industries in Switzerland that make intensive use of intellectual property rights (IPR) contribute significantly to employment and the gross domestic product (GDP). This is the conclusion of a European study that has just been published. The European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have examined the role IP rights play in economic performance,...

On 23 May, companies from all over Switzerland gathered at the SEF.Wachstum (meaning ‘growth’) event. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) was present as a partner organisation with an exhibition stand. During the ‘SpeedDating4Growth’ part of the programme, experts from the IPI answered questions about protecting innovation. “Some attendees asked about current issues...

Which sector in Switzerland applies to register the most designs? How many patents are currently in force? On the new statistics page of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), you can read up on interesting facts and figures on IP rights in Switzerland. The data is visualised with graphics, while a slide show highlights information on individual IP rights. All statistics on...

Almost 1 ,000 trade marks were applied for at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) in 2018. As a result, there are now more than 500 000 trade marks in force for the first time in Switzerland. Registering a trade mark protects companies from free-riders, although trade marks are not the only thing that companies and private individuals can apply to register. This is also...

Our newsletter (available in German and French) provides up-to-date information from the IPI's trade mark division,  in particular  on developments in trade mark practice. You can read the current edition here: Newsletter 2018/05 in GermanNewsletter 2018/05 in French Would you like to subscribe free of charge to this or other newsletters? Then register here to keep up to date.  

Our newsletter (available in German and French) provides up-to-date information from the IPI's trade mark division,  in particular  on developments in trade mark practice. You can read the current edition here: Newsletter 2018/04 in GermanNewsletter 2018/04 in French Would you like to subscribe free of charge to this or other newsletters? Then register here to keep up to date.  

Our newsletter (available in German and French) provides up-to-date information from the IPI's trade mark division,  in particular  on developments in trade mark practice. You can read the current edition here: Newsletter 2018/02-03 in GermanNewsletter 2018/02-03 in French Would you like to subscribe free of charge to this or other newsletters? Then register here to keep up to date.  

Our newsletter (available in German and French) provides up-to-date information from the IPI's trade mark division,  in particular  on developments in trade mark practice. You can read the current edition here: Newsletter 2018/01 in GermanNewsletter 2018/01 in French Would you like to subscribe free of charge to this or other newsletters? Then register here to keep up to date.  

Due to the high number of Swiss applications for the registration of trade marks, the time limit for the initial examination is usually increased to four months from the date of the payment of the filing fee and any class surcharges. Within this time limit, we will either confirm that your trade mark is to be accepted for registration in the trade mark register or inform you of any deficiencies...

As of 20 November 2017, national designs entered in the Swiss design register are also available in Designview. This multilingual and user-friendly search tool is provided by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). It offers access to the registered designs of all participating national offices – generally patent and trade mark offices – as well as the interregional offices EUIPO,...