Swiss Patent Attorney cheat sheet

Swiss Patents Act (PatG) substantive requirements: novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability, and sufficiency of disclosure; exclusions include discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, and methods of treatment by surgery or therapy on the human or animal body.

Novelty under PatG is absolute: any public disclosure anywhere in the world before the filing or priority date destroys novelty; a grace period of 6 months applies only to disclosures by the applicant or their successor in title, or disclosures at an officially recognised exhibition.

The European Patent Convention (EPC) governs European patents validated in Switzerland; Art. 52(2) EPC excluded subject-matter (discoveries, presentations of information, programs for computers as such) is assessed by technical character, not by field.

Priority under the Paris Convention: 12 months for patents and utility models; a subsequent application claiming priority must be filed within that period and the priority document is the first application for the same invention.

PCT route: international application filed with a receiving office, international search report and written opinion, 18-month publication, 30-month national/regional phase entry (Chapter I) or 31 months (Chapter II where demand filed); Switzerland as designated state.

Paris Convention national treatment: applicants from member states enjoy the same rights in Switzerland as Swiss nationals; no requirement of reciprocity beyond membership.

Patent term: 20 years from filing date for Swiss and European patents; annual renewal fees due to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) from the third year.

Supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) extend protection for medicinal and plant protection products up to 5 years, capped at 15 years from the first marketing authorisation in Switzerland.

IPI examination is substantive for Swiss national applications: the examiner issues a search report and preliminary opinion, and the applicant may request examination with amendment; the procedure is governed by the PatG and the IPI's published guidelines.

Unity of invention: an application must relate to a single inventive concept; lack of unity leads to a partial search report and an invitation to restrict or pay additional search fees.

Clarity and support: claims must be clear, concise, and supported by the description; functional features are permissible only if the description provides sufficient guidance to carry them out across the claimed scope.

Inventive step at the IPI follows the problem-and-solution approach: determine the closest prior art, establish the objective technical problem, and assess whether the claimed solution was obvious to the skilled person.

Amendments during prosecution must not extend beyond the content of the application as filed; added matter objections are raised where features are generalised or isolated from their original context.

The IPI publishes the application 18 months after the filing or priority date; early publication can be requested; the search report and written opinion are typically available to the applicant before publication.

Opposition to a Swiss patent may be filed with the IPI within 3 months of grant; grounds are limited and include lack of novelty, lack of inventive step, insufficient disclosure, and inadmissible extension.

Third-party observations may be filed at any time during examination; they do not make the third party a party to the proceedings but are considered by the examiner.

Claim structure: an independent claim states the technical features essential to the invention; dependent claims add features and provide fallback positions during prosecution.

Two-part claim format (preamble plus characterising portion) is used where the invention is a modification of known subject-matter; the preamble identifies the closest prior art and the characterising portion states the distinguishing features.

Description must enable the skilled person to carry out the invention over the full claimed scope; prophetic examples and broad functional language invite insufficiency and support objections.

Best mode and deposit requirements: biological material that cannot be described in writing must be deposited with a recognised depositary institution by the filing date.

Drafting for priority: the first application should disclose all features later claimed, because priority is granted only for subject-matter disclosed in the priority document.

Prosecution strategy: respond to each objection point by point, amend claims narrowly where necessary, and avoid amendments that introduce new matter or broaden the claim beyond the original disclosure.

Claim fees and page limits: excess claims fees and excess page fees apply; consolidating dependent claims and trimming the description reduce official fees.

Divisional applications: may be filed while the parent is pending or within a set period after refusal or withdrawal; the divisional must not extend beyond the parent's disclosure and retains the parent's filing and priority dates.

Infringement under the PatG: the patentee may prohibit others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, importing, or stocking the patented product; process patents extend protection to products directly obtained by the process.

Exceptions to patent effect: acts for private non-commercial purposes, acts for experimental purposes relating to the subject-matter of the invention, and acts for obtaining marketing authorisation (Bolar exemption) are permitted.

Compulsory licences may be granted by the court where the patentee abuses a dominant position, where a dependent invention cannot be worked without infringing an earlier patent, or in the public interest; the applicant must first attempt to obtain a contractual licence.

Employee inventions under the PatG: the employer may claim the invention by written declaration; the employee is entitled to reasonable compensation assessed by the IPI's compensation guidelines.

Patent litigation in Switzerland: the Federal Patent Court has exclusive jurisdiction over validity and infringement; appeals go to the Federal Supreme Court; preliminary measures include interim injunctions and seizure.

Unified Patent Court: Switzerland is not an EU member and not a UPC contracting state; European patents with unitary effect do not cover Switzerland, and Swiss patents remain outside UPC jurisdiction.

Trade secrets and know-how: the PatG and the Unfair Competition Act protect confidential technical information; disclosure of a trade secret can be a criminal offence under Art. 162 of the Swiss Criminal Code.

Policy: Swiss patent policy is administered by the IPI within the Federal Department of Justice and Police; Switzerland is a member of the EPC, PCT, Paris Convention, TRIPS, and the Budapest Treaty.

Swiss Patents Act (PatG) substantive requirements: novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability, and sufficiency of disclosure; exclusions include discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, and methods of treatment by surgery or therapy on the human or animal body.

Novelty under PatG is absolute: any public disclosure anywhere in the world before the filing or priority date destroys novelty; a grace period of 6 months applies only to disclosures by the applicant or their successor in title, or disclosures at an officially recognised exhibition.

The European Patent Convention (EPC) governs European patents validated in Switzerland; Art. 52(2) EPC excluded subject-matter (discoveries, presentations of information, programs for computers as such) is assessed by technical character, not by field.

Priority under the Paris Convention: 12 months for patents and utility models; a subsequent application claiming priority must be filed within that period and the priority document is the first application for the same invention.

PCT route: international application filed with a receiving office, international search report and written opinion, 18-month publication, 30-month national/regional phase entry (Chapter I) or 31 months (Chapter II where demand filed); Switzerland as designated state.

Paris Convention national treatment: applicants from member states enjoy the same rights in Switzerland as Swiss nationals; no requirement of reciprocity beyond membership.

Patent term: 20 years from filing date for Swiss and European patents; annual renewal fees due to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) from the third year.

Supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) extend protection for medicinal and plant protection products up to 5 years, capped at 15 years from the first marketing authorisation in Switzerland.

IPI examination is substantive for Swiss national applications: the examiner issues a search report and preliminary opinion, and the applicant may request examination with amendment; the procedure is governed by the PatG and the IPI's published guidelines.

Unity of invention: an application must relate to a single inventive concept; lack of unity leads to a partial search report and an invitation to restrict or pay additional search fees.

Clarity and support: claims must be clear, concise, and supported by the description; functional features are permissible only if the description provides sufficient guidance to carry them out across the claimed scope.

Inventive step at the IPI follows the problem-and-solution approach: determine the closest prior art, establish the objective technical problem, and assess whether the claimed solution was obvious to the skilled person.

Amendments during prosecution must not extend beyond the content of the application as filed; added matter objections are raised where features are generalised or isolated from their original context.

The IPI publishes the application 18 months after the filing or priority date; early publication can be requested; the search report and written opinion are typically available to the applicant before publication.

Opposition to a Swiss patent may be filed with the IPI within 3 months of grant; grounds are limited and include lack of novelty, lack of inventive step, insufficient disclosure, and inadmissible extension.

Third-party observations may be filed at any time during examination; they do not make the third party a party to the proceedings but are considered by the examiner.

Claim structure: an independent claim states the technical features essential to the invention; dependent claims add features and provide fallback positions during prosecution.

Two-part claim format (preamble plus characterising portion) is used where the invention is a modification of known subject-matter; the preamble identifies the closest prior art and the characterising portion states the distinguishing features.

Description must enable the skilled person to carry out the invention over the full claimed scope; prophetic examples and broad functional language invite insufficiency and support objections.

Best mode and deposit requirements: biological material that cannot be described in writing must be deposited with a recognised depositary institution by the filing date.

Drafting for priority: the first application should disclose all features later claimed, because priority is granted only for subject-matter disclosed in the priority document.

Prosecution strategy: respond to each objection point by point, amend claims narrowly where necessary, and avoid amendments that introduce new matter or broaden the claim beyond the original disclosure.

Claim fees and page limits: excess claims fees and excess page fees apply; consolidating dependent claims and trimming the description reduce official fees.

Divisional applications: may be filed while the parent is pending or within a set period after refusal or withdrawal; the divisional must not extend beyond the parent's disclosure and retains the parent's filing and priority dates.

Infringement under the PatG: the patentee may prohibit others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, importing, or stocking the patented product; process patents extend protection to products directly obtained by the process.

Exceptions to patent effect: acts for private non-commercial purposes, acts for experimental purposes relating to the subject-matter of the invention, and acts for obtaining marketing authorisation (Bolar exemption) are permitted.

Compulsory licences may be granted by the court where the patentee abuses a dominant position, where a dependent invention cannot be worked without infringing an earlier patent, or in the public interest; the applicant must first attempt to obtain a contractual licence.

Employee inventions under the PatG: the employer may claim the invention by written declaration; the employee is entitled to reasonable compensation assessed by the IPI's compensation guidelines.

Patent litigation in Switzerland: the Federal Patent Court has exclusive jurisdiction over validity and infringement; appeals go to the Federal Supreme Court; preliminary measures include interim injunctions and seizure.

Unified Patent Court: Switzerland is not an EU member and not a UPC contracting state; European patents with unitary effect do not cover Switzerland, and Swiss patents remain outside UPC jurisdiction.

Trade secrets and know-how: the PatG and the Unfair Competition Act protect confidential technical information; disclosure of a trade secret can be a criminal offence under Art. 162 of the Swiss Criminal Code.

Policy: Swiss patent policy is administered by the IPI within the Federal Department of Justice and Police; Switzerland is a member of the EPC, PCT, Paris Convention, TRIPS, and the Budapest Treaty.