Too attractive, too cheap, too generous? Trade in new and used products is increasingly shifting to online marketplaces. Fraudsters are taking advantage of this. They use tricks to lure their victims into acting carelessly or they deliberately mislead them. Trust your instinct. If it doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t. Take a close look if you’re in any doubt and double check anything that...

To this day, country names such as Switzerland, Suisse and Schweiz are being registered as elements of a trade mark without any restriction. As a result, there are a large number of trade marks with country names that have nothing to do with the respective country. The dispute between the Icelandic state and the British supermarket chain ICELAND is therefore considered a model case. Swissness...

Statutory regulations have been in force since 1 January 2017 for products and services that producers want to promote with ‘Swissness’, such as with a Swiss cross or a ‘Swiss Made’ label, for example. The aim of these rules is to protect the ‘Swiss’ brand from misuse and secure companies that produce in Switzerland an important long-term competitive advantage. The ‘Swissness’ legislation...

Watch out when shopping online because toys, clothes, jewellery accessories and new high-tech products are all very much in demand in the pre-Christmas period. It is the season when many consumers expect to bag a really good bargain. You can find further information in the STOP PIRACY media release.

Successful measures in the fight against misuse of “Swissness” and fewer offences in Switzerland. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) reports a positive result for the year 2018. The key points at a glance: In 2018, the IPI did not have to initiate any criminal proceedings in Switzerland. In the 78 interventions led by the IPI, all of the companies involved were...