Protecting IP ownership and rights in Switzerland: 6 things employers need to know
Protecting your company’s intellectual property—including its inventions, copyrights, trade secrets, designs, and trademarks—is critical to ensuring you retain your competitive edge and are successful. You need to be aware of IP law—a complex subject that can be further complicated when you’re trying to navigate it across international borders.
If you’ve recently expanded and are hiring in Switzerland, whether in Berne or Zurich, it’s crucial to ensure your IP ownership and rights are protected there. In Switzerland, IP rights are governed by federal laws and numerous international treaties. Failing to safeguard your ownership can lead to expensive legal issues, loss of profits, and damage to your company’s reputation.
Our guide will go over the basics of protecting your business’s IP rights and ownership (note: this primer is for informational purposes and is not intended to provide legal advice).
1. NDAs are enforceable in Switzerland
Swiss courts have a well-earned global reputation for fairness, especially when it comes to doing business and protecting the commercial value of ideas, inventions, trademarks, trade names, and so on. This is reflected in how the court systems have handled non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), historically upholding them and considering issues on a case-by-case basis.
And there’s further good news for employers: Whereas many European governments have recently started cracking down on the use of NDAs (citing instances where companies used them improperly to silence whistleblowers), in Switzerland, there haven’t been any changes in public attitudes concerning confidentiality agreements.
2. Switzerland recently implemented new legislation further protecting IP rights and ownership
Up until a few years ago, Switzerland was on an international watch list because of the difficulty it was having protecting the IP rights and ownership of its businesses and consumers online. That, however, has changed: The Swiss Unfair Competition Law was updated again in early 2022 and now better ensures that anti-competition practices taken by companies on the internet will be stopped and intellectual property laws can be enforced.
The most recent amendment to the Unfair Competition Law prohibits geoblocking, which is the practice of blocking an online transaction based on location. Swiss customers cannot be discriminated against due to their country of origin.
3. The Swiss Federal Council has protections in place for copyrights, trademarks, patents, and designs
The Swiss Federal Council—the official name of the Swiss federal government—protects copyrights, trademarks, patents, and designs. Additionally, Switzerland also follows the regulations and guidance set forth by WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Office.
For copyrights:
- The creator of a work, including literature, audio-visual works, artistic works, or sculptures, is the owner of the copyright under the Swiss Federal Act on Copyright and Neighboring Rights. Computer programs are also protected under this legislation.
- There is no specific way to copyright a work in Switzerland. Copyright protections are granted automatically.
- Copyright protection is valid until 70 years after the passing of the creator. If the work is a computer program, 3D rendering, or photograph, copyright protection expires 50 years after the death of the author.
For patent applications:
The Federal Act on Patents for Inventions requires an invention to meet the following requirements for a Swiss patent to be granted:
- It has an applicable use in the industry.
- It is novel and doesn’t form part of the “state of the art,” the Swiss legal terminology referring to all information and designs that have already been made public over the years
- It is not obvious and could not have been designed by someone without any skills in or knowledge of its industry.
Your patent is valid for 20 years from the filing date. Note: Switzerland is a member of the European Patent Organisation as well.
For design rights:
The Federal Act on the Protection of Designs, also known as the Designs Act, requires a design to be both novel and of “individual character.” That is, it has to be clearly different from designs already well-known in Switzerland for design rights to be granted. You must register your design with the IPI (the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property); once you do, your design rights will be protected for five years from the filing date.
For trademarks:
Under the Federal Act on the Protections of Trademarks and Indications of Source, a trademark must be distinctive, not misleading, and cannot be contrary to public morality to be protected. To receive trademark protection, you must register your trademark with the IPI; it will be protected for 10 years from the filing date, although this can be renewed an unlimited number of times.
4. Contractors own the copyright to their work unless you override this in a written agreement
According to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), the creator of a work holds the copyright to it. This is true even when an employee at a company creates something during the course of their employment at that business. They will be the copyright owner unless they assign the rights to you. The only exception to this rule is computer software. Employers own the rights to any programs created while the worker is under their employ.
5. You have to localize IP ownership clauses to Switzerland
If your company is headquartered outside of Switzerland or if you’ll be hiring employees who live (and will remain) in other countries, you need to localize your IP ownership clauses to Switzerland. Swiss IP protection laws differ from those of many other nations—especially since they don’t cover trade secrets (see below) and because Switzerland has been lagging in protecting its consumers and businesses online.
If you need to take an employee, business partner, or other party to court, it must be clear which country’s laws and court system you were following when any legal documents were written.
6. Trade secrets are not protected under Swiss intellectual property law
This one might surprise you: Trade secrets aren’t granted any exclusive intellectual property rights under Swiss law. Instead, you’ll need to make sure the language of the contracts you draw up sufficiently covers your trade secrets in addition to your other IP. You’ll have to rely on the Swiss Unfair Competition law, the above-mentioned contracts, and other acts to protect you if you decide to take legal action against improper use of your company’s trade secrets.
Frequently asked questions about IP law in Switzerland
Who owns the IP rights to works created by an employee or contractor?
The employee or contractor does. Under Swiss copyright law, IP ownership is granted automatically to the creator of a work, even if it was made during the course of their employment for a company. Companies must ask employees to assign the copyright to them for ownership to be transferred. The only exception to this rule is computer programs.
Is all intellectual property protected under Swiss law?
No. Interestingly, Swiss intellectual property law does not protect trade secrets. Instead, employers must write up an airtight employment contract explicitly mentioning trade secrets to benefit from protection.
Additionally, unregistered designs and trademarks are not automatically covered by Swiss law. For design rights or the rights to your company’s trademarks, you must register with the IPI (the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property).
What is the registration process for design rights, trademarks, and patents like in Switzerland?
Once the IPI receives your design, trademark, or patent application, your information will be checked to ensure the minimum requirements are satisfied to grant protection. Next, you’ll be asked if you wish to defer publication, which can be done for up to 360 months. If you choose to proceed, your illustrations will be processed and you’ll receive an invoice for any applicable fees, as well as notification of any objections to the publication of your work. The final steps include registering and sending the registration certificates.
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Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.
