Switzerland IGE News

Switzerland Clarifies Swissness Mark for Partially Local Products

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.

Federal Council Elects Béatrice Fink Düring and Nicola Alessandro Mona to IPI Institute Council

The Swiss Federal Council has elected Béatrice Fink Düring and Nicola Alessandro Mona to the Institute Council of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), effective 1 April 2026. Nicola Mona, a citizen of Ticino, succeeds Vincenza Trivigno, who stepped down at the end of 2025 after being elected Executive Director of Swissmedic. Béatrice Fink Düring takes over from Oliver Gassmann. The Institute Council, composed of nine members, is the IPI's chief operational governing body and sets fees, approves budgets and financial statements, and determines Executive Board composition.

Swiss Patent Law 2027: Fee-Based Search and Examination Options

The partially revised Swiss Patent Law, expected to take effect on 1 January 2027, will introduce a fee-based search on the state of the art for every patent application filed from that date. Additionally, applicants will gain the ability to choose between a partial and a full substantive examination. The IPI has published FAQs on its website addressing which pending applications will be examined under current versus new legislation, with further updates pending the Federal Council's adoption of the Patents Ordinance.