Switzerland
Fees for registering Switzerland trademarks
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Renewal:
Service Process
Trademark registration time
The current trademark regulations in Switzerland are mainly based on the "Law on the Protection of Trademarks and Geographical Indications" promulgated on August 28, 1992 and revised on April 1, 2019. The Swiss Federal Office for Intellectual Property is responsible for managing trademark affairs, and the official languages are German, French, and Italian. Trademark exclusive rights need to be obtained through registration. Trademark registration is not mandatory, but in order to protect the trademark or renew it, it must be registered in accordance with the law. Swiss trademark registration adopts the principle of "application first", but for trademarks that already have a certain level of popularity, trademark rights can also be claimed based on "prior use".
Switzerland is a signatory to international intellectual property treaties such as the Singapore Treaty, the Paris Convention, the Nice Agreement, the WIPO Convention, and the Trademark Law Treaty. It is also a member of the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol, so trademark registration can be processed through either the "single country registration" or the "Madrid International Registration" method.
Trademark Registration Process
At present, the Swiss government adopts the Nice Classification 11th edition of product and service descriptions and accepts applications for multiple categories in one form. The elements that can be registered as trademarks in Switzerland include: text, name, graphics, three-dimensional identification, color combinations, sound, etc.
If the applicant does not reside in Switzerland, they must entrust a specialized agent in that country to handle it. The basic materials required for trademark application are:
1. Trademark design;
2. Category and product/service items;
3. Name and address of the applicant;
4.If priority is declared, priority proof documents and corresponding translations must be provided.
The main process for applying for registration of a Swiss trademark is: application - acceptance - examination - approval - issuance - announcement. The application will be accepted approximately one week after submission. The examiner will conduct formal and substantive examinations on the application. Formal review mainly examines whether the application requirements and classification information comply with regulations; The substantive examination includes the examination of the distinctiveness of the trademark and whether it violates the prohibition and prohibition clauses. After passing the review, registration can be granted and a registration certificate can be issued; If the review fails, a rejection notice will be issued and the applicant will be required to respond within the time limit specified in the rejection notice. After the approval and issuance of the certificate, an announcement will be arranged, and a 3-month objection period will be set from the announcement date. Any interested party or prior rights holder may raise objections, and the main reasons for raising objections are:
1. Conflict with prior trademarks, such as owning a prior registered trademark;
2. The trademark lacks distinctiveness;
3. The trademark has adverse effects;
4. Malicious registration;
5. Conflict with other prior rights, such as trade name rights, design rights, copyrights, personal names, etc.
If there are no objections or objections are not valid during the announcement period, the trademark will be officially registered successfully. If everything goes smoothly, Swiss trademark registration takes about 6 months; If there are any objections or rejections encountered during the process, the time will be extended.
Trademark registration materials
The Swiss trademark is valid for 10 years after registration, starting from the date of application; Renewal can be processed within 6 months before the expiration date, with a grace period of 6 months; The renewal is valid for 10 years.
The application for invalidation or revocation of a trademark registration can generally be filed in accordance with the following content in Chapter 3 of the Law on the Protection of Trademarks and Geographical Indications:
1. Violating the "absolute reason" provision of the law;
2. Violation of the "relative reasons" provisions of the law;
3.If a trademark has not been actually used in that country for five consecutive years after registration, anyone may apply for revocation; Except for force majeure.
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