Trademark applications have increased

One Communication of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), a total of 17,177 new trademarks were registered in Switzerland in 2019. The number of trademarks active in Switzerland at the end of the year has thus risen to 514,825. With a share of 56 percent, word marks are the most common type of trademark. Figurative marks and combination marks account for 4 and 39 percent respectively. In the year under review, "more unusual variants such as 3D or acoustic trademarks were also added in isolated cases", according to the IPI. The IPI receives the most applications from the canton of Zurich, with 15.3 percent, according to the press release. The cantons of Vaud and Geneva follow with 7.7 and 6.4 percent respectively.

In design protection, the IPI was able to register 705 designs with a total of 2852 items in 2019, the release further explains. When registering designs, several objects of the same class of goods can be registered at the same time. In total, the register showed 9433 design registrations with 32,416 objects at the end of last year. Most new applications were filed in 2019 in the goods classes of watches & instruments, packaging and apparatus for recording.

In addition, 1720 new patents were filed in Switzerland in 2019, and a total of 7066 Swiss patents were active at the end of the year, the release continues. There, the IPI also points out the possibility of obtaining information about the prospects of success of one's own invention by means of a patent search. Last year, 824 such patent searches were carried out at the IPI.

Patent search: Inventions under the magnifying glass

Last year, 1720 inventions were registered in Switzerland and a total of 7066 Swiss patents were active. If the patents of the European Patent Office (EPO), which are also effective in Switzerland, are added, the total number of patents is over 131,719. The number of accompanied patent searches for individual inventors and SMEs as well as researchers is also developing positively. With this IPI service, they can find out whether their innovation is new and whether it is worth applying for a patent. The search also provides an overview of similar inventions and competitors. At the end of the search, the customer has a decision-making aid in the question of which path to pursue with the invention.

Last year, the patent experts at the IPI carried out 824 such searches (previous year: 697). Most clients come from the cantons of Zurich (237), followed by Bern (110) and Aargau (87). Approximately 30 percent of these searches were carried out in 2019 in the context of cooperation with national or regional funding institutions.

For further information, please contact the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property