Federal Council approves reduction of fees for trade mark protection

Bern, 16.12.2022 - Trade marks are a valuable asset for many companies. By registering them, companies identify their product as being their intellectual property and thereby protect themselves from free riders. In future, it will be less expensive to file a trade mark and renew its term of protection in Switzerland. The Federal Council approved the amended Fee Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) at its meeting on 16 December 2022.

Trade marks are important differentiators. Companies often invest a lot of time and money into developing and managing them. Names and logos used to distinguish or advertise goods or services on the market can be protected as trade marks with the IPI. Trade mark owners can prevent others from labelling identical or similar products with a trade mark which could be confused with theirs.

Trade mark protection to be more affordable

From 1 July 2023, it will cost 450 Swiss francs to file a trade mark with the IPI instead of the current 550 Swiss francs. In addition, the fee for protecting an international trade mark in Switzerland for three classes of goods will be reduced by 50 Swiss francs. The IPI will also offer an ‘e-discount' of 100 Swiss francs from this date onwards for applications submitted electronically. A trade mark is protected for ten years from its filing date. After that, protection can be renewed indefinitely for ten years at a time. With effect from 1 July 2024, the renewal fee will be decreased from 700 to 550 Swiss francs.

The reduction of trade mark fees is possible due to the IPI's positive operating results. The fee changes will lead to a reduced annual income of just under 6 million Swiss francs and will help regulate the level of the IPI's reserves.

The IPI, which was converted from a federal office into an independent institute in 1996, finances itself entirely from its own funds, primarily via fees for patent, trade mark and design protection. The Federal Council sets the fees at a level which enables the IPI to have sufficient reserves to maintain a balanced budget.

Address for enquiries

Jürg Herren, Deputy Head of Legal & International Affairs, Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), T +41 31 377 72 16, juerg.herren@ipi.ch