Federal Patent Court of Switzerland

The Federal Patent Court ( BPatGer; French Tribunal fédéral the brevets, Italian tribunals federale dei brevetti, Romansh Tribunal federal since patentas, English Federal Patent Court ) was created by the Patent Court Act of 20 March 2009 and his work as lower civil courts in patent cases on 1 January 2012 in a temporary in St. Gallen. With the opening of the new building of the Federal Administrative Court in St. Gallen put it there moved into its final work spaces.

First President of the Court is Dieter Brandle, the second full-time judge Tobias Bremi. In addition, include the court of twenty judges and five judges with technical training as well as eleven judges with legal training in the next office.

The Federal Patent Court is exclusively responsible for the assessment of complaints about the validity and infringement of patents and lawsuits for grant of a patent license in Switzerland. It is also exclusively responsible for the ordering of precautionary measures in connection with patents and for the enforcement of such decisions. Also for other civil lawsuits that are factually related to patents, in particular, for example, lawsuits related to license agreements or in connection with the authorization of patents, the Federal Patent Court has jurisdiction. The Court shall sit in groups of three or five judges. Depending on the problem while judges are selected from different backgrounds.

So there for Switzerland only one national competent lower civil courts for patent litigation: the Federal Patent Court. This is responsible for both the question of the violation as well as the question of legal resistance, in contrast to the German system. Subsequently, a judgment of the Federal Patent Court, there is only a single appellate court, namely the Federal Court. The second instance is so short, the way to a final judgment in accordance fast. Namely, it comprises, in contrast to most other countries, not only two and three instances.

In international comparison noteworthy is the possibility of a patent infringement suit in one of the three official languages ​​( ie in German, French or Italian ) or, with the consent of the parties to perform in English. This possibility is the action guide in all three official languages ​​of the European Patent Office ( German, French, English ), together with the fact that in the court led by a civil court in patent cases not only a legal but also a technical judge has its headquarters, is a European novelty and unique.