Switzerland: Guidelines for the Substantive Examination of National Patent Applications

January 1, 2021

Switzerland: The Guidelines for the Substantive Examination of National Patent Applications, which were updated and revised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), apply to all pending procedures for patents from January 1, 2021.

The revised Guidelines provide for the following elements:

(i) defining the criteria for the examination of supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) and pediatric SPCs;

(ii) adapting the time limits to reflect the current practice (including for reasons of the coronavirus pandemic): granting a period of three months for all objections issued in the course of the substantive examination of a patent application, and a period of two months for objections concerning SPCs and pediatric renewals. Such time limits can be extended as before; and

(iii) introducing a large number of editorial changes.