Switzerland Clarifies Swissness Mark for Partially Local Products
Summary
Swiss companies manufacturing products locally abroad (particularly in the United States) may now reference Swissness and associated quality standards even when the final product does not meet full Swissness criteria. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) clarified its practice to allow use of the Swiss cross between two words (e.g. SWISS ENGINEERING) as long as it is not misunderstood as indicating Swiss origin for the entire product. The Swiss cross must be placed exactly between the two words, and the square length must not exceed the size of the uniformly sized font. This clarification took effect immediately on 23 March 2026, subject to contrary provisions in industry-specific ordinances.
“The Swiss cross must be placed exactly between the two words (e.g. SWISS and ENGINEERING), and the length of the square must not exceed the size of the (uniformly sized) font.”
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GovPing monitors Switzerland IGE News for new courts & legal regulatory changes. Every update since tracking began is archived, classified, and available as free RSS or email alerts — 3 changes logged to date.
What changed
The IPI clarified its practice on indications of source under Swiss trademark law, permitting Swiss companies to use the Swiss cross between two descriptive words (such as SWISS RESEARCH or SWISS ENGINEERING) when manufacturing locally abroad and the full product no longer qualifies as Swiss-made. The existing legal framework already allowed such referencing, but the IPI's updated guidance makes this permissive practice explicit and operational. The conditions are precise: the Swiss cross must sit exactly between the two words, and the square length must not exceed the uniform font size.
Manufacturers and brand owners using Swissness as a quality signal should review their product labelling and marketing materials to confirm compliance with these clarified placement and size standards. The clarification applies immediately and prevails unless a specific industry ordinance provides otherwise.
Archived snapshot
Apr 23, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
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Swissness legislation: clarification of practice
23.03.2026 | The Swiss economy has been under considerable pressure for some time now due to the continuing strength of the Swiss franc and high US tariffs. This is making the position of Swiss companies in the global market more difficult. Under these circumstances, it’s important to apply the law in favour of businesses as much as possible. In regard to the United States, in particular, it’s becoming more important for certain Swiss industries to manufacture their products locally, which means that they no longer meet the Swissness criteria. Nevertheless, these companies have a legitimate interest in being able to refer to Swissness and the associated quality standards of the manufacturing steps that remain in Switzerland. Such referencing helps to strengthen Switzerland’s position as a centre of innovation in the long term.
This is already possible under existing law. However, the IPI has clarified its practice in this regard so that companies may now use the Swiss cross in such cases (e.g. with ‘SWISS RESEARCH’ or ‘SWISS ENGINEERING’) as long as it is not misunderstood as an indication of Swissness for the entire product. The Swiss cross is one of the most powerful symbols of Swissness and, as we all know, a picture paints a thousand words. Hence, the conditions for such use remain strict. The Swiss cross must be placed exactly between the two words (e.g. SWISS and ENGINEERING), and the length of the square must not exceed the size of the (uniformly sized) font.
This clarification of practice comes into force with immediate effect. It’s subject to any special provisions to the contrary, for example in industry ordinances.
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