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.
Quick links
Formalities for filing your invention
It is possible to apply for a patent for your invention informally. As soon as certain minimum details have been received, the IPI grants your patent application a number and determines the filing date of the application. Any changes thereafter are only possible if they meet strict legal regulations. The technical documents should therefore be meticulously prepared and submitted with the application form.
Minimum requirements for securing a filing date for your application
The filing date of the application is the date on which the IPI receives the request for the grant of a Swiss patent, the description of the invention and the name of the applicant. The maximum term for a Swiss patent is calculated from this filing date.
Please note that after the filing date, no new information may be added to the description of the invention.
An address for service in Switzerland or Liechtenstein is required. Please use the application form (in German, French and Italian); this will assist in the smooth processing of your request.
Minimal requirements for a patent application
...the following should be submitted three months after the filing date at the latest:
- At least one patent claim defining the invention
- Technical drawings of reproducible quality
- An abstract
- A translation of the technical documents in one of the official Swiss languages (German, French or Italian) if the documents are not being submitted in one of the official languages or in English
...the following should be submitted 16 months after the priority date at the latest:
- A declaration of any international priority rights being claimed as well as the priority document(s)
- The names and addresses of all inventors involved (in German, French and Italian)
- Any waivers by individual inventors to being named
- A translation of the technical documents in one of the official Swiss languages (German, French or Italian) if the documents have been submitted in English
Language of the patent application procedure
The official Swiss language selected at the time of filing the patent application determines the language of the procedure. Any communication between the IPI and the patent applicant or his representative must be done in this language.
Naming the inventor
Submitting the patent application in paper form
You can submit a patent application to the IPI in paper form. In addition to the completed request form and the designation of inventor form, you must also enclose three identical copies of the technical documents and, if applicable, their translations in the language of the procedure. The filing date is then the date of the Swiss postmark or the date it is received at the IPI.
Filing a patent application electronically
You can also submit your request form along with the designation of inventor form and the technical documents by email. This also applies to all correspondence during the procedure as well as to almost all of the documents for the Swiss patent procedure. Such requests and forms also require a signature.
The sender automatically receives an electronic confirmation of receipt including the date it was received. The date of receipt is considered the filing date as long as the minimum requirements have been met.
email: patent.admin@ekomm.ipi.ch
Note
It is possible to file all documents needed for the Swiss patent procedure electronically to patent.admin@ekomm.ipi.ch. This does not apply to the filing of biological materials and the confirmation of equivalence; see also the overview of accepted channels of communication.