SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Lukas Bühlmann, Michael Reinle and Michael Schüepp, MLL Legal
3. Limitations and Special Laws 3.1 Representation and Stereotypes in Advertising There are no special laws in this regard. The same general provisions apply as mentioned under 1.1 Pri- mary Laws and Regulation . 3.2 Children In general, the same standards apply as in the assess - ment of other advertising (see 1.1 Primary Laws and Regulation ). However, as explained in 2.1 Deceptive or Misleading Claims , advertising must be assessed based on the understanding of the average address - ee. It follows from this that a stricter standard gener - ally applies to advertising to children. In addition, for certain products, special laws have been enacted that prohibit or restrict advertising specifically directed at children (eg, for alcohol and tobacco products). 3.3 Dark Patterns There are no special laws or guidance and, therefore, the same standards apply to dark patterns in advertis - ing as in the assessment of other advertising methods (see 1.1 Primary Laws and Regulation ). 3.4 Sponsor Identification and Branded Content In general, the same rules apply as for other advertis - ing methods. Therefore, the commercial nature of the content as well as all sponsors must be clearly rec - ognisable (see 2.7 Disclosures ). The principles of the SFCC explicitly state that the sponsoring of editorial contributions is unlawful if it is not recognisable for the audience which parts of the publication are sponsored and who the sponsor is (Principle B.15a). In addition, detailed sector-specific regulations apply to advertising on TV and radio (in particular, see Article 20 of the Radio and Television Ordinance). For exam - ple, they stipulate that every mention of a sponsor must establish a clear link between the sponsor and the programme. The sponsor’s name must not direct - ly encourage the conclusion of legal transactions for goods or services. During the broadcasting of a televi - sion programme, a brief reminder of the sponsorship relationship may be provided (an insert). One insert per sponsor is permitted per ten minutes of broad -
in the case of very prominent advertisers (eg, Roger Federer), that the commercial character is recognis - able and thus no disclosure is required.
2.8 Other Regulated Claims The Tobacco Product Act (TPA)
According to Article 12 TPA, the following information is prohibited on tobacco products for smoking and on their packaging: • information, trade marks and figurative signs that create the impression that a particular product is less harmful than others, such as “light”, “mild”, “organic”, “natural” or “without additives”; and • the nicotine, tar or carbon monoxide content of the product’s emissions. In addition, any references on the product or packag - ing to the ability of tobacco products or electronic cigarettes to cure, alleviate or prevent illness are pro - hibited. Health-Related Claims These are generally prohibited for any products other than medicinal products. However, Annex 14 of the Ordinance on Foodstuffs Information includes specific permitted health-related claims for foodstuffs. Swissness Provisions The so-called Swissness provisions in the Trade Mark Act (Articles 47 et seq) and the ordinances thereto govern the use of Swiss claims, Swiss symbols and other Swiss indications of origin. The use of the Swiss flag is further regulated in the Coat of Arms Act. In general, the use of Swiss indications of origin must not be deceptive. Consequently, the Swissness rules set out when a product is considered to have been manufactured in Switzerland or when a service is suf - ficiently “Swiss”. With regard to foodstuffs, 80% of the content must be of Swiss origin. However, there are exceptions. Regarding industry products, at least 60% of the manufacturing costs must arise in Swit - zerland. The ordinance clarifies how to calculate the manufacturing costs.
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