SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Lara Dorigo and Alexandra Bühlmann, Pestalozzi
Pestalozzi Feldeggstrasse 4 8008 Zurich Switzerland Cours de Rive 13 1204 Geneva Switzerland Tel: +41 442 179 111
Email: zrh@pestalozzilaw.com Web: www.pestalozzilaw.com
1. Intellectual Property Rights and Granting Procedure 1.1 Types of Intellectual Property Rights In Switzerland, inventions are primarily protected by patents. A patent with effect for the territory of Switzerland can either be applied for and grant- ed as a Swiss national patent under the Swiss Patents Act (“PatA”) or as a European patent under the European Patent Convention (EPC) with the designation of Switzerland. According to the PatA and Swiss judicial practice, certain inventions are excluded from patentability, such as gene sequences, methods of medical treat- ment or mere computer programs. Under Swiss law, protection of an invention as a utility model is not available and the Federal Council (the Swiss government) recently aban- doned its plan to introduce a utility model as part of the partial revision of the PatA that is currently underway. Undisclosed inventions may qualify as trade secrets and are then protected by law against unlawful use and disclosure, which may qualify
as an act of unfair competition (Article 6, Act against Unfair Competition) or a criminal act (Article 162, Penal Code). In addition, trade secrets can be protected through contractual means. The Directive (EU) 2016/943 on the pro- tection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) is not directly appli- cable in Switzerland, which is not an EU coun- try, nor has any analogous law been adopted in Switzerland. Overall, the Swiss provisions on trade secret protection are less detailed than the legal framework in the European Union, but they provide effective protection that meets the requirements of Article 39, paragraph 2 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intel- lectual Property Rights (TRIPS). 1.2 Grant Procedure A Swiss national patent is granted pursuant to the PatA upon application to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property ( Institut Fédéral de la Propriété Intellectuelle , or IPI). European patent applications with protection for Swit- zerland may be filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) pursuant to the EPC.
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