SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Peter Schramm, Timmy Pielmeier, Michael Ritscher and Andrea Schäffler, MLL Legal
Industrial Property (Paris Convention); (e) the Convention of 13 April 1892 between Switzerland and Germany concerning the Reciprocal Protection of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks; and (f) the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trade - marks. Once approved by Switzerland, international legal treaties become an integral part of Swiss law, meaning that the provisions of the trea - ties are, in principle, directly applicable if they are self-executing. For example, the Federal Supreme Court has held that the three-step test set forth in Article 9 paragraph 2 of the Berne Convention is directly applicable in Switzerland. This also applies to the minimum protection set out in the Berne Convention and the WCT, for example. Swiss national law must be interpreted in conformity with the above-mentioned conven - tions by national courts. In principle, a Swiss trade mark is a sign that is capable of distinguishing the goods and ser - vices of one undertaking from those of other undertakings. Provided they can be represented graphically, trade marks may be any kind of sign, including: • words; • letters; • slogans; • numerals; • figurative representations; • three-dimensional shapes; or • combinations of such elements with each other or with colours. 2. Trade Mark Ownership, Protection and Rights 2.1 Types of Trade Marks
Scents cannot be protected as a trade mark in Switzerland. The Swiss Trade Mark Protection Act differenti - ates between individual, collective, certification and geographical marks. Specifically, Swiss law allows trade mark protection of: • service marks; • design marks; • trade dress; • collective marks; • certification marks; • geographic indicators; • product marks (both product design and packaging); • industrial designs; and • surnames. In order to meet the increased requirement to keep three-dimensional shapes available to competitors, Swiss law provides an absolute ground for refusal of shapes that constitute the nature of the goods or shapes that are techni - cally necessary. The Swiss jurisdiction provides protection of armorial bearings, flags and other State emblems against unauthorised registration and use as trade marks, in accordance with Article 6ter of the Paris convention. Protected public signs include flags and coats of arms of the Swiss Confederation and the cantons, sovereign signs of foreign countries and signs of international organisations. Furthermore, names, abbrevia - tions and emblems of the United Nations or other intergovernmental organisations may not be protected as trade marks or as elements thereof. Unlike Germany, for example, Switzer - land does not provide special protection to the Olympic insignia; Switzerland is not a member of
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