Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property

The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IIP ) (French Institute Fédéral the Intellectual Property, Italian Istituto Federale della Proprietà intellettuale, Romansh Institute Federal da Proprietad Intellectuala, English, Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property) with headquarters in Bern is the competence center of the Swiss Confederation for all matters concerning patents, trademarks, geographical indications, design protection and copyright. It belongs to the Federal Department of Justice and Police. Since its conversion to a public corporation of the federal government in 1996, it has its own legal personality and independent from the federal budget. The Institute has around 260 employees ( March 2014 ). Director of the Institute is Dr. Roland Grossenbacher.

Order and Services

The tasks of the IGE are laid down in a separate law on the Statute and tasks of the IGE ( IGEG ):

• Grant of property rights: The Institute is the contact point for patent, trademark and design registrations in Switzerland and, depending on the process, for international applications. It examines the national petitions, granted the rights and administered the appropriate registers. Its official organ for publication of the industrial property title is the online database Swissreg. Interested can find it for free information from the right protection registers and protected topographies.
• Sovereign information task: The IGE informed economic agents, educational institutions and the public about the immaterialgüterrechtlichen protection systems and how they can be used to advantage. It also offers inter alia kmu.ige.ch a specific website for SMEs and newcomers.
• Policy Services: The Institute prepares the legislation before concerning patents, design, copyright and related rights, topographies of semiconductor products, trademarks and geographical indications, public Coat of Arms and other public identifier as well as other decrees in the field of intellectual property. It advises the federal and represents Switzerland in all aspects of intellectual property in international organizations and in negotiations with third countries.
• Free ( commercial ) information services: Under the label ip-search the IPI leads on the basis of private law trademark searches before the trademark application and patent searches through in the field of brands, especially brands: Similarity search and in the area of ​​patents, research on the state of the art, research on validity (opposition research), patent infringement searches ( Freedom to Operate) and patent environment analysis. For information on trademarks, patents and technologies are an important basis for business decisions in the areas of research and development, law and marketing.

Employee

History

The Federal Office for Intellectual property was founded on November 15, 1888. As part of the new administrative organization law, it was renamed the Federal Office for Intellectual Property ( BAGE ) 1978. On 1 January 1996 it received the status of an autonomous public institution and was named Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property ( IGE ) continued.