Strengthening the Swiss Patent

In March 2024, the Swiss Parliament approved a partial revision of the Federal Patent Act, which aims to make Swiss patents a more reliable, transparent and competitive tool.

The revision of the law – set to come into force in spring 2026 – is accompanied by an amendment to the relevant ordinance, which is currently under consultation.

One of the main changes is the introduction of a mandatory search on the state of the art to assess the novelty and inventive nature of the proposed invention to be published. This is an important step towards greater transparency and legal certainty: the applicant and third parties will immediately have access to critical information for their assessment.

Another innovative aspect is the option to submit the patent application (the documents for which may also be submitted in English) to a full examination of the patentability requirements. The protection offered by a Swiss patent will thus be comparable to that of a European patent.

The opposition procedure at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property IPI will also be abolished in favour of a direct appeal to the Federal Patent Court (no longer the Federal Administrative Court). This change aims to improve the technical expertise of the court.

Finally, the parallel revision of the ordinance will bring about practical adjustments: existing obstacles to digitisation will be eliminated, and the filing procedure will be simplified.

This will result in a more modern and flexible patent system that is capable of responding to the needs of research and innovation in a rapidly changing international environment.