Swiss trademark registration process
Applicants can apply to register a Swiss trademark through two channels: one is to submit a Swiss trademark registration application directly through IGE; the other is to submit a Swiss trademark registration application in accordance with the Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Trademarks. " or the "Protocol Relevant to the Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Marks", submit an application for international registration of a trademark.
Priority for trademark registration
1. Priority under the Paris Convention
In countries that are members of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or in countries that grant reciprocal treatment to Switzerland After the first national trademark registration application is made, if the same trademark registration application is submitted in Switzerland within 6 months, it can enjoy priority. The priority date shall be the filing date.
2. Exhibition priority
If products or services with trademarks are exhibited at an official exhibition stipulated in the "International Exhibition Convention", the trademark shall be submitted to the exhibition within 6 months after the opening of the exhibition. IGE can enjoy priority by submitting an application for registration of this trademark. The exhibition opening day is the priority date.
Procedure for applying for trademark registration directly to IGE
1. Trademark search
Because IGE does not examine whether the applied mark infringes upon the trademark during the trademark registration approval process. Registered trademarks or other corporate rights, therefore before filing an application for trademark registration, the applicant should first conduct a trademark search to ensure that the mark to be applied for will not infringe any prior rights. Available online databases include:
● Swiss registered intellectual property database (Swissreg): You can search for trademarks, patents, designs and protected integrated circuit layout designs registered in Switzerland.
● Swiss Enterprise Information Database (Zefix): A database provided by the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) and the Federal Ministry of Justice (FOJ), which can search for information such as Swiss company names and registration status.
● Swiss Internet Domain Name Database (SWITCH): You can search for Swiss domain names ending with .ch and domain name holders. In addition, Liechtenstein domain names ending in .li can be searched at www.nic.li.
● Madrid International Trademark Registration Database (Madrid Monitor): Detailed information on all trademarks registered through the Madrid System can be retrieved.
● EU Trademark Database (TMview): You can search for trademark registrations accepted by the European Patent and Trademark Office and the intellectual property authorities of each EU member state.
Applicants should also check whether the mark to be applied for may conflict with other trademarks. For details, please refer to "Which type of mark takes precedence in case of conflict" and "Risk of Confusion: Yes or No?" provided by IGE. .
2. Preparation of application materials
According to the Swiss trademark registration application form, the information that the applicant needs to provide includes:
(1) Applicant (Markenhinterleger/ in)
Indicate the full name of the applicant; if it is a company, indicate the company name, address, zip code/region.
(2) Agent (Vertreter/in)
Indicate the full name of the agent; if it is a company, indicate the company name, address, zip code/region.
(3a) Contact person (Kontaktperson)
Indicate the full name, phone number and fax number of the contact person.
(3b) Reference number, dossier (Referenznummer, Dossier)
(4) Mark (Marke)
For those using special fonts and special graphic designs For logo, a black and white picture should be pasted in the box on the right side of the item in the application form. Maximum image size is 80 x 80 mm.
The optional marks are: three-dimensional mark (Dreidimensionale Marke), sound mark (Akustische Marke), mark with color requirements (Marke mit Farbanspruch), color mark (Farbmarke), or fill in the mark type yourself.
(5) Fees (Gebühren)
Indicate the amount of the application fee (Hinterlegungsgebühr) and category surcharge (Klassenzuschlag), and select the payment method - according to the payment bill issued by IGE Pay, or allow IGE to deduct money directly from the designated account.
(6) List of categories of products and/or services (Verzeichnis der Waren und/oder Dienstleistungen)
A trademark is protected only in the category of products or services specified at the time of registration. Swiss trademark classification applies to the classification method of the Nice Agreement on the International Classification of Products and Services for Trademark Registration, which is divided into 45 categories. Applicants can use the online tool (Klassifikationshilfe) provided by IGE to help determine the trademark classification. If you still have questions, you can consult IGE via email.
(7) Trademark Category (Markenart)
The applicant can choose whether the applied mark will be used as an ordinary trademark (Individualmarke), certification mark (Garantiemarke) or collective mark (Kollektivmarke) ), if not selected, it will be used as a normal trademark by default.
(8) Priority claim (Priorit?tsanspruch)
The applicant should indicate the country and date where the priority was obtained in accordance with the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. If there is only partial priority, it is necessary to clarify which product or service categories have priority, or provide corresponding priority documents.
(9) Color requirements (Farbanspruch)
(10) Remarks (Bemerkungen)
(11) Attachments (Beilagen)
(12) Date and signature (Datum und Unterschrift)
For more specific requirements, please refer to the eTrademark usage help provided by IGE.
3. Submit an application
To submit a trademark application online, you can use the eTrademark system provided by IGE (only German, French or Italian can be selected). Applicants will be guided step-by-step through the application materials, including instructions on what to fill out.
Applicants can also submit the application form to IGE by mail, fax or email (tm.admin@ekomm.ipi.ch). The address of IGE in Bern is:
Eidgen?ssisches Institut für Geistiges Eigentum
Stauffacherstrasse 65/59g
CH-3003 Bern
It should be noted that although IGE has broadened the way of electronic filing, if you choose to submit a trademark application by email, you must use the address above and cannot use other IGE email addresses, such as info@ipi on the application form. ch. Otherwise, the application will not be legally submitted and will be delayed.
Formal correspondence from IGE will continue to be sent by post, but general communications that do not involve administrative procedures will still be possible by email.
For more information, please refer to IGE's "Terms of Use for Simplified Submission of Electronic Applications via Email".
4. Preliminary review
IGE will review the categories of products and/or services specified in the application materials. Applicants will be reviewed quickly if they use terms from the online tool Klassifikationshilfe. Otherwise, IGE will spend more time determining to which categories the applied trademark is assigned.
5. Enter the database
The application materials will be stored on Swissreg. Applicants can check the progress status of the application at any time through Swissreg.
6. Provide application certificate
IGE provides the applicant with a certificate confirming that he or she has submitted a trademark registration application.
7. Review of format and application materials
IGE will review the format and content of application materials for defects. If there are problems, IGE will contact the applicant and the applicant will have the opportunity to correct the problems.
8. Authorization
If the application materials pass the review of IGE, the mark will be registered as a Swiss national trademark and the applicant will obtain a registration certificate. At the same time, the application documents will be made public on Swissreg. Within 3 months thereafter, a third party may object to the trademark registration.