The Swiss PTO has announced its plans to abolish fee reductions for electronic applications, which will effectively increase the filing fees by 60%. Starting January 1, 2010, official filing fee for a trademark in up to three classes will be CHF 550 instead of the current rate of CHF 350. The fee for each additional class will become CHF 100 instead of the current CHF 60. In light of these changes, brand owners considering applying for trademark protection in Switzerland may wish to file their applications before the end of the year.
The current filing fees date back to 2002 when they had been lowered to encourage electronic filing. Because over 95% of new applications are now filed electronically, the Office feels that the incentive is no longer necessary and plans to use the additional revenue to finance further development of its electronic services.
Vol. 53, June 2010