A patent is protected in the country in which it is registered and in which it is in force. One exception, however, is a Swiss patent, which is also valid in Liechtenstein by virtue of a patent cooperation treaty.

An invention may, in principle, be freely used by anybody in those countries where it isn't protected.

This means that a juicer protected only in Switzerland can be produced by somebody else in France. However, you reserve the right to have it imported into Switzerland. This means you can prevent it being imported or, for example, allow it to be imported on payment of a licence fee.

If you want to protect your invention in additional countries, you must file a patent there in good time. You can do this by patenting your invention in Switzerland and then extending protection to other countries afterwards. Or you can choose an international application procedure.

• Three routes to patent protection

• If a competitor acts unfairly, the Federal Act on Unfair Competition can help.