SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Philippe Nordmann, Marion Bähler, Christian Hagen, Samuel Lieberherr and Dario Glauser, Walder Wyss Ltd
• otherwise unlawful; • contrary to public policy, explicitly forbidden or immoral; or • only comprised of features dictated solely by the technical function of the product. The owner of a design has the exclusive right to its use and can prevent third parties from using it for commercial purposes. Protection covers the external appearance and visual impression of a product. The production, utility, intended use and technical effects of a design are not protected. Animated creations are not covered by design protec - tion in Switzerland. Application Swiss design applications are to be filed with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. Publi - cation can be deferred for up to 30 months. Enforcement and Remedies Design infringements can be prosecuted through both civil actions and criminal proceedings. Length of Protection Designs are protected for an initial period of five years from the date of filing and can be renewed for an addi - tional five years, for a total duration of up to 25 years. 7.4 Copyright Definition Intellectual creations (including visual and audiovisual works, music, works of architecture, computer soft - ware and scientific works) with an individual character are copyright-protected works. Software is an explic - itly recognised work category. Further, photographs are protected even if they do not have an individual character. Copyright does not protect, for example, ideas, achievements, products of nature or coincidence, concepts or instructions, or laws and regulations. Pat - ent specifications and published patent applications are not protected.
The copyright owner has the exclusive right to deter - mine how and when the copyright-protected work is used. This includes: • the right to reproduce; • the right to distribute; • the right to make a work available to the public; • the right to perform and present; and • the right to adapt. Protection Protection arises automatically upon the creation of the work, with no registration required. Under Swiss law, it is not necessary to add “©” or “Copyright” for protection to apply. As there is no register for copyrights, in case of a dispute the copyright owner needs to demonstrate authorship or having been assigned (by operation of law or contractually) ownership. Aside from other means of proof (witnesses, drafts, etc), the Swiss Cop - yright Act provides for a presumption of authorship, meaning that, unless proven otherwise, the author is deemed to be the person whose name or pseudonym appears on the copies of the work published. Enforcement and Remedies Copyright infringements can be prosecuted through both civil actions and criminal proceedings. Remu - neration claims for certain types of works are only enforceable by societies for the collective manage - ment of copyrights. Length of Protection Protection lasts for the life of the author, plus: • 50 years for computer software and photographs; and • 70 years for all other copyrights. 7.5 Others Switzerland does not have an act dealing specifically with trade secrets. Instead, trade secrets are protected under various provisions, as set out in the following. • Criminal law prohibits persons legally committed to keeping a secret from exploiting or revealing it. It also prohibits industrial espionage. Furthermore,
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