Legal
The protection of intellectual property is regulated by a series of specific laws in Switzerland. The legislation of significance for counterfeiting and piracy are the laws for trademark, designs, patents and copyrights.Absolute rights
Intellectual property rights are referred to as ‘absolute rights’—this means they must be respected by everyone. Intellectual property rights owners—i.e., owners of trademarks, patents, designs or copyrights—have the exclusive right to determine how their invention or creation will be used commercially. They can prohibit others from producing, storing, offering, selling, importing, importing or exporting goods which infringe an intellectual property right. Some intellectual property rights include a number of exceptions. For example, published works protected by copyright may be copied for private use under certain conditions.How can rights holders defend themselves against infringement?
A rights holder has numerous possibilities when his rights are infringed upon: Firstly, he can file action against such violations. The deliberate infringement of intellectual property rights can be punished with up to one year custodial sentence or a monetary penalty of up to CHF 1,080,000. If the violator acts commercially, the punishment is up to five years custodial sentence and a monetary penalty of up to CHF 1,080,000. In addition, there is a number of other measures for specific crimes, in particular under the drug act, the precious metals control act, and the criminal code. Objects which are illegal can also be confiscated and destroyed as part of criminal procedures.The rights holder can claim damages in a civil court. In addition, he can request the judge to eliminate an existing infringement or block an imminent infringement. The judge can also compel the accused to reveal the source of the illegal objects in his possession and order them to be confiscated and destroyed.
Time is often a decisive factor in the enforcement of intellectual property rights. For that reason a rights holder can request provisional measures before a civil court. These are rapid measures for securing evidence or for interim execution of a claim for an injunction. The rights holder must only demonstrate in a credible way that his rights have been infringed or that such an infringement is imminent and that the infringement will threaten to cause a difficult to recompense disadvantage.
Customs assistance
The moment pirated goods reach the border is often the best moment to seize them. A rights holder can seek and apply for assistance from customs to refuse the release of a suspicious shipment of goods. The rights holder then has ten days to request provisional measures before a civil court. The customs officials can also notify rights holders of suspicious shipments on their own.STOP PIRACY has created a form that shows the requirements for an application for assistance, the supporting documents to be submitted, the process etc. in a comprehensive and easy to understand way (only available in German / French / Italian, doc 318 KB).
Counterfeiting and piracy: Not simply a minor crime
Product piracy is not longer just a minor crime—it’s a crime which puts consumers, the economy, and society in danger. That is why the Swiss legislators have increased penalties and improved assistance from the Customs Administration in the amended laws which go into effect July 1, 2008.Further information
- Legal information at the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property
- FAQs about counterfeiting and piracy
- Information about product piracy (Customs Administration)
