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Switzerland

China, India, US rise; Japan, Singapore, UK fall – Global Innovation Index 2019 report released

WIPO has revealed the world’s most innovative countries. In a new report it places Switzerland, Sweden and the United States at the top of the list, with the Netherlands, Singapore and the United Kingdom falling down the rankings.

26 Jun 2019

FIFA reflects on scoring an IP enforcement win at the 2018 World Cup in Russia

Daniel Zohny, IP head at FIFA, looks back at the intense workload taken on by his team during the 2018 World Cup and looks forward to the next tournament as the worthy winner of WTR’s Sports, Entertainment and Media Team of the Year.

15 Mar 2019

Plain packaging is a trademark issue, not a tobacco issue – exclusive interview with JT International

Ronald van Tuijl of JT International explains to WTR the distinctive set of trademark challenges that his team faces, what he looks for when enlisting law firms, how plain packaging is affecting his practice, and more.

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26 Sep 2019

OTTO v OTTO's: Federal Supreme Court partially upholds Swiss retailer's appeal

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has recently considered a trademark and unfair competition dispute between two companies that owned trademarks containing the element ‘OTTO’. Read more

21 Aug 2019

Federal Administrative Court confirms that MERCI lacks distinctiveness

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court has upheld a decision of the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property refusing to register the trademark MERCI (‘thank you’ in French) for services in Classes 35, 38, 40 and 42. Read more

10 Jun 2019

Swiss Federal Supreme Court rules in Apple’s favour in landmark decision

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has recently had to decide whether the Swiss public understands the term ‘apple’ to be a type of fruit or a reference to the US tech company Apple, and has ruled in the company’s favour. Read more

14 May 2019

TICK DIFFERENT: Apple loses to watchmaker Swatch before Swiss court

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court has considered an opposition filed by US tech giant Apple against Swiss watchmaker Swatch’s application for the registration of the mark TICK DIFFERENT for Class 14 goods, including jewellery and watches. Read more

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Anti-counterfeiting

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12 Mar 2019

Alibaba reaches settlement, new Hong Kong IP director, and Swiss IP office issues fakes warning: news digest

In our latest round-up, we look at the New Zealand IP office issuing a stark warning against misleading mislead invoices, $1.1 million worth of counterfeits stopped on Canada-US border, and much more. Read more

31 Jan 2019

How Novartis is building a consistent brand strategy across four business units

In an exclusive interview, Myrtha Hurtado Rivas from pharmaceutical giant Novartis reveals how changes to the company’s trademark strategy created more effective cross-unit cooperation. Read more

24 Jan 2019

How collaboration in the Swiss watch industry keeps brands one step ahead of infringers

Vincent Stauffer, trademark counsel at the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, speaks exclusively to WTR about his industry's fight against fakes and struggle to protect Swissness rights worldwide. Read more

11 Apr 2018

Customs concerns: counsel identify significant room for improvement in India, Iran and Turkey

Trademark counsel have had their say on the efficiency of customs authorities across the globe – with some of the largest importers of counterfeit goods giving cause for continued concern. Read more

Enforcement and litigation

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26 Sep 2019

OTTO v OTTO's: Federal Supreme Court partially upholds Swiss retailer's appeal

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has recently considered a trademark and unfair competition dispute between two companies that owned trademarks containing the element ‘OTTO’. Read more

14 May 2019

TICK DIFFERENT: Apple loses to watchmaker Swatch before Swiss court

21 Feb 2019

Why every trademark lawyer should spend time in-house: exclusive interview with Bacardi’s Anna Panka

While legal know-how is critical for law firm practitioners, an understanding of the corporate business environment should not be underestimated. That is the message conveyed by Anna Panka, senior counsel at Bacardi, in an exclusive interview with WTR. Read more

25 Sep 2018

Federal Administrative Court: no likelihood of confusion between IMPERIAL marks

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court has agreed with the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property that there was no likelihood of confusion between the marks IMPERIAL and TIERRA IMPERIAL in Class 33. Read more

Goverment/policy

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15 Oct 2018

Can beer that is not brewed in Lucerne be labelled as “beer from Lucerne”? The Supreme Court decides

The Swiss Supreme Court has held that beer sold under the name Lozärner beer (“beer from Lucerne”) would mislead the average consumer into believing that it was brewed in the city or canton of Lucerne. Read more

26 Apr 2018

In-house perspectives on diversity in the trademark industry: “All of us in this field need to do more”

The theme of today’s World IP Day is ‘Powering change: Women in innovation and creativity’. In the first of a two-part piece, corporate trademark professionals reflect on the topic of the day. Read more

IP offices

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6 Apr 2018

Trademark offices prepare for the future as users give poor performance grades

The performance levels of the Chinese, Brazilian and Indian trademark offices have clear room for improvement but change could be afoot. Read more

Online

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13 Mar 2017

Federal Supreme Court: forum delicti requires specific proof of actual or imminent harmful act in relevant territory

The Federal Supreme Court has ruled that, for a court to have jurisdiction based on forum delicti, a harmful act must have actually taken place, or be imminent, in the territory of that court. As the claimant was unable to provide sufficient proof of an infringement within the relevant territory, its claim of trademark infringement and unfair competition was dismissed due to a lack of jurisdiction. Read more

Portfolio management

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6 Feb 2019

Success for Richemont as court finds that fish mark does not offend religious feelings

In a victory for luxury goods company Richemont, the Swiss Federal Administrative Court has overturned a decision of the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property refusing to register a mark consisting of a fish design in Class 14. Read more

30 May 2018

Blow for Storck as sweets packaging is held to lack distinctiveness

In a decision which highlights its strict approach to packaging registration, the Swiss Federal Administrative Court has upheld the refusal of Storck's application for blue, white and grey packaging in Class 30. Read more

20 Apr 2018

Court finds no likelihood of confusion between SIGNIFOR and SIGNASOL in questionable decision

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court has held that there was no likelihood of confusion between the trademarks SIGNIFOR and SIGNASOL for pharmaceutical preparations in Class 5. Read more

13 Mar 2018

Facebook victorious on appeal: FACEBOOK and STRESSBOOK held to be similar

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court has overturned a decision of the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in which the latter had found that there was no likelihood of confusion between the marks FACEBOOK and STRESSBOOK. Read more

Trademark law

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21 Feb 2019

Why every trademark lawyer should spend time in-house: exclusive interview with Bacardi’s Anna Panka

8 Jan 2019

Protecting and enforcing design rights: Switzerland

Swiss design is characterised by its hybrid status – it is influenced by the German tradition of functionalism and the Italian radical design of the 1960s. Swiss design lies somewhere between ‘form follows function’ and ‘anything goes’ – it is functional yet rich; linear while unexpected; practical and refreshing. Read more

10 Sep 2018

Trademark procedures and strategies: Switzerland

Any natural or legal person can apply for trademark registration in Switzerland (restrictions apply to geographical marks). Foreign applicants must indicate a service address for use in Switzerland. Read more

5 Jul 2018

Federer logo clash with Nike highlights contractual pitfalls for sports stars

This week the Wimbledon tennis tournament got underway, with media reports noting how reigning champion Roger Federer “stunned onlookers by turning out on Centre Court in Uniqlo gear”. The focus then turned to the absence of his often-used RF logo, which is caught up in an ownership wrangle. Read more

latest

OTTO v OTTO's: Federal Supreme Court partially upholds Swiss retailer's appeal

Federal Administrative Court confirms that MERCI lacks distinctiveness

Swiss Federal Supreme Court rules in Apple’s favour in landmark decision

TICK DIFFERENT: Apple loses to watchmaker Swatch before Swiss court

Twitter

14 Nov 2019

@WTRmagazine RT @timlince: IP attorneys: have your details been improperly used on the @USPTO trademark register? How significant is this problem? Let m… Read more

13 Nov 2019

@WTRmagazine RT @TCompuMark: The start-up nation of the world, Israel, is shifting to support more mature companies. @WTRmagazine covers this change and… Read more

12 Nov 2019

@WTRmagazine RT @TCompuMark: You’ve probably heard of the Google/Fitbit tie-up but, do you know what doors this could open? Check out what our CompuMark… Read more

12 Nov 2019

@WTRmagazine RT @MarksmenTweets: Risqué business: lessons from the Unilever and Kraft Heinz Pornhub advertising backlash https://t.co/bmu4KVZFCm by @WT… Read more