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PART I GENERAL PROVISIONS Chapter 1 Conditions for Obtaining Patents and Effects of Patents A. Patentable Inventions I. General Conditions Art. 1 (1) Patents for inventions shall be granted for new inventions applicable in industry. (2) Anything that manifestly follows from the state of the art (Article 7) shall not be patentable as an invention. (3) Patents shall be granted without the guarantee of the State. II. Special Cases Art. 1a Patents shall not be granted for new varieties of plants or animal breeds, or for essentially biological processes for producing plants or breeding animals; microbiological processes and products obtained by such processes shall be patentable, however. B. Inventions Excluded From Patentability Art. 2 The following shall not be patentable: (a) inventions the implementation of which would be contrary to public order or morality; (b) methods of surgical or therapeutic treatment and of diagnosis applied to the human body or to the bodies of animals. C. Right to Obtain the Patent I. General Principle Art. 3 (1) The inventor, his legal successor or a third party owning the invention under any other title shall be entitled to the right to obtain the patent. (2) Where several inventors have made an invention jointly, they shall be joint owners of the right to obtain the patent. (3) Where several inventors have made the invention independently of each another, this right belongs to whomever may base himself upon the earlier application or the application with the earlier priority date. II. In Examination Procedure Art. 4 In the procedure before the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, the patent applicant shall be considered as being entitled to apply for the grant of the patent. D. Mention of Inventor I. Right of Inventor Art. 5 (1) The applicant shall file a written designation of the inventor with the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. (2) The person designated by the applicant shall be recorded as inventor in the Register of Patents, in the publication of the grant of the patent, and in the patent. (3) Paragraph (2) shall apply by analogy if a third party produces an enforceable judgment establishing that he and not the person designated by the applicant is the inventor. II. Renunciation of Mention Art. 6. (1) If the inventor designated by the applicant renounces his right to the measures provided for in Article 5(2), these measures shall not be taken. (2) A declaration made beforehand by the inventor renouncing being recorded as such shall be without legal effect. E. Novelty of the Invention I. State of the Art Art. 7 (1) An invention that is not included in the state of the art shall be deemed to be new. (2) The state of the art shall consist of everything that has been made accessible to the public prior to the filing or priority date, by means of a written or oral description or a practice, or by any other means. II. Prior Right Art. 7a An invention shall not be deemed to be new if, while not included in the state of the art, it is the subject of a valid patent granted in respect of Switzerland as a result of a prior filing, or enjoying earlier priority. III. Unclaimable Disclosures Art. 7b Where the invention has been made accessible to the public during the six months prior to the application date or priority date, this disclosure shall not be included in the state of the art when it is the direct or indirect result of: (a) a manifest abuse in relation to the applicant or his legal predecessor; or (b) the fact that the applicant or his legal predecessor has displayed the invention at an official or officially recognized exhibition within the meaning of the Convention of November 22, 1928, concerning international exhibitions, where he has declared the fact at the time of filing and has produced sufficient supporting evidence in good time. IV. New Use of Known Substances Art. 7c Substances or compounds which are included as such in the state of the art or are the subject of a prior right, but which do not meet these conditions with respect to their use for the implementation of a method of surgical or therapeutic treatment or of diagnosis (Article 2(b)), shall be deemed to be new to the extent that they are intended solely for such use. F. Effects of Patent Art. 8 (1) The patent shall confer on its owner the exclusive right to the professional use of the invention. (2) Besides the utilization and execution of the invention, use shall include offering for sale, sale, placing in circulation and importing for such purposes. (3) If the invention concerns a process, the effects of the patent shall extend to the immediate products of the process. G. Patents of Addition Art. 9 [Repealed] Art. 10 [Repealed] H. Notice of Patent Protection I. Patent Marking Art. 11 (1) Products enjoying patent protection, or their packages, may be marked with the patent notice consisting of the Federal Cross and the number of the patent. The Federal Council may specify additional indications. (2) The patentee may require any owners of a right to use the invention by virtue of prior use or a license to affix the patent marking on the products of their manufacture or on the packages of such products. (3) If the said parties do not comply with the patentee's requirement, they shall be liable to the latter for any resulting damage, without prejudice to the patentee's right to require the patent marking. II. Other References Art. 12 (l) Whoever issues or offers for sale his business papers, notices of any kind, products or goods bearing any other notice referring to patent protection shall inform any third party upon request of the number of the patent application or the patent to which the notice refers. (2) Whoever accuses third parties of infringing his rights or warns them against such infringement shall upon request give them the same information. J. Residence Abroad Art. 13 (1) Persons having no Swiss residence shall appoint an agent resident in Switzerland who, in procedures provided for in this Law, shall represent him before the administrative bodies and before the courts. (2) The legal provisions on the practice of the profession of attorney are reserved. K. Term of Patent I. Maximum Term Art. 14 (1) The maximum term of a patent shall be 20 years from the filing date of the application. (2) [Repealed] II. Premature Expiration Art. 15 (1) The patent shall expire: (a) if the owner renounces it by a written declaration to the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property; (b) if an annual fee due is not paid within the prescribed time. (2) [Repealed] L. Reservation Art. 16 Patent applicants or patent owners who are Swiss nationals may rely on the provisions of the text, binding Switzerland, of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of March 20, 1883, where those provisions are more favorable than the provisions of this Law.

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