National IPR tools and measures supporting Article 9 of the ITPGRFA: geographical indications, trademarks and the new ‘swissness’ regulation

In Switzerland, several intellectual property right tools and measures are mutually supportive to Article 9 of the Treaty, including geographical indications, trademarks, as well as the new ‘swissness’ legislation. The Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) is the leading entity for geographical indications for agricultural products, and the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) is responsible for trademarks and the ‘swissness’ legislation. The system for registration of geographical indications has been in place since 1997 and is contained in the Federal Act on Agriculture. The Trademark Protection Act dates from 1992 and the ‘swissness’ legislation is in place since 2017.The latter establishes rules in the Trademark Protection Act concerning the conditions under which a product or service may be labelled as being ‘Swiss’. In particular, it strengthens the protection for using 'Made in Switzerland' and the Swiss Cross, and it contributes to preventing any wrongful use of the ‘Swiss made’ brand. This set of measures ensures the long-term value of products developed from specific regional PGRFA, through fostering public awareness and recognition of farmers’ efforts to use and maintain these PGRFA, in the sense of Article 9 of the Treaty.