RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/76/Add.5
3September 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-3545)
Original: English Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS ONANY SYSTEMS FOR THE REGISTRATION
OFGEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS WHICH THEY OPERATE
Communication from Switzerland
Addendum
Atitsmeeting of27February 1997, theCouncil forTRIPS agreed toinitiate preliminary work
onissues relevant tothenegotiations specified inArticle 23.4oftheTRIPS Agreement through an
information-gathering activity. Inthisconnection, theCouncil invited Members tosubmit information
onanysystems fortheregistration ofgeographical indications which theyoperate. Reference ismade
toparagraph 73ofdocument IP/C/M/12.
ThepresentdocumentreproducestheinformationreceivedfromSwitzerlandbyacommunication
from itsPermanent Mission, dated 8August 1997.
_______________
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS IMPLEMENTATION OFARTICLE 23
OFTHE TRIPS AGREEMENT
Information ontheNational Protection System
Thefollowing isinresponse totheTRIPS Council decision of27February 1997 inrelation
toArticle 23.4oftheTRIPS Agreement (paragraphs 73and74ofdocument IP/C/M/12).
I. PROTECTION OFGEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS FOR PRODUCTS OTHER THAN
WINES
A. InGeneral
1. Swiss legislation concerning geographical indications ("indications ofsource") isfound in
combination withSwiss trademark legislation under thetitle"Federal LawontheProtection of
Trademarks andIndications ofSource" (Trademark Law) of28August 1992(RS232.11).1ThisLaw
1TheTrademark Lawasamended on16December 1994 (adjustment totheTRIPS Agreement) wasnotified
in1996 (seenotification IP/N/1/CHE/T/1). Other amendments totheTrademark Lawandtotheimplementing
ordinance have been made since thatnotification. They willbenotified inthenearfuture together withother
newpieces oflegislation inanupdated version ofthelistsoflaws andregulations.IP/C/W/76/Add.5
Page2
setsforththerequirements ofprotection forgeographical indications forallproducts andservices in
general.
2. "Indications ofsource" encompass direct orindirect references tothegeographical origin of
products orservices, including references totheirnature orproperties, having arelationship withtheir
origin (Article 47(1)). Geographical names andsigns notunderstood asareference toaspecific origin
ofgoods orservices intheinterested circles arenotdeemed indications ofsource within themeaning
oftheTrademark Law(Article 47(2)). With respect togoods, onlythe"place ofmanufacture" or
the"origin ofthebasic materials andcomponents used" maybedeterminative (Article 48(1)). The
fulfilment offurther conditions mayalsoberequired, namely compliance with manufacturing
("fabrication") principles andquality requirements thatarecustomary orprescribed intheplace
concerned.
3. Inordertoprotectconsumersaswellascompetitorsofagivenregionorareafromthepossibility
offraud, deception orconfusion withregard totheorigin ofagiven product orservice, theTrademark
Lawstrictly forbids theapplication ofincorrect indications ofsource aswellastheuseof"designations
thatmaybeconfused withincorrect indications ofsource" (Article 47(3)(a) and(b)). Theuseofa
name, address ortrademark "inrelation togoods orservices ofdifferent origin" where thiscould be
deceptiveisalsoprohibited(Article47(3)(c)).Therearevariousjudicialmeasuresavailableforviolations
oftherelevant provisions concerning indications ofsource: forexample, anyone whointentionally
actsinviolation ofArticle 47(3) oftheTrademark Lawisliable toimprisonment ofuptooneyear
orafineofupto100,000 francs (Article 64,"Use ofIncorrect Indications ofSource"). Pursuant
tothelatter provision, itisnotonlyincorrect geographical indications which areproscribed, butalso
correct indications thatare,ineffect, fraudulent ordeceptive. Anytrademark bearing afalse
geographical indication canbeinvalidated viaadeclaration ofnullity ofthetrademark registration
(Article 52).Thefraudulent useofatrademark isalsopunishable byimprisonment orfine(Article 62).
4. Incircumstances where thegeneral interest oftheeconomy orofindividual sectors sorequires,
theFederal Council maydetail theconditions under which aSwiss indication ofsource maybeused
forspecific goods orservices after firsthearing theCantons andtheprofessional andindustrial
associations concerned (Article 50Trademark Law). Thishasbeendone, forexample, forwatches
inthe"Ordonnance du23décembre 1971 réglant l'utilisation dunom'Suisse 'pourlesmontres"
(Ordinance Governing theUseoftheAppellation "Switzerland" or"Swiss" forWatches) (RS232.119).
B. Geographical Indications forAgricultural Products andProcessed Agricultural Products
5. Attention isalsodrawn tothefactthat,inthefieldofagricultural products andprocessed
agricultural products, protection ofgeographical indications isensured byArticle 18(c) oftheFederal
LawontheImprovement ofAgriculture andPreservation ofFarming Populations (RS910.1)2and
bytheOrdinance of28May1997 ontheProtection ofAppellations ofOrigin andGeographical
Indications inrespect ofAgricultural Products andProcessed Agricultural Products (RS910.12).3
Withtheexception ofwines (seeparagraphs 6to14below), thesetextsalsocover spirits. TheOrdinance
provides forasystem ofregistration equivalent totheoneestablished intheEuropean Union. The
systemsofprotectionaffordedbytheOrdinanceandtheTrademarkLawarecomplementary.Indications
2Textsubmitted forreferendum notified in1996 (seenotification IP/N/1/CHE/1). Thedefinitive textwill
benotified inthenearfuture together withother newpieces oflegislation inanupdated version ofthelistsof
laws andregulations.
3Entry intoforce on1July1997. Thetextwillbenotified inthenearfuture together withother newpieces
oflegislation inanupdated version ofthelistsoflaws andregulations.IP/C/W/76/Add.5
Page3
which arenotregistered under theterms ofthatOrdinance continue tobeprotected under theTrademark
Law.
II. PROTECTION OFGEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS FOR WINE
6. Section 5oftheSwiss Federal Decree onWine Cultivation (RS916.140.14,hereinafter
"Decree"), dated 19June1992, setsforth thefederal requirements withregard tothecantonal wine
harvest, quality anddesignation. Swiss Cantons mayofferbroader protection, buttheyareobligated
torespect theminimal norms specified forwineproduction bytheDecree.
7. TheCantons control andregulate theirownwines withregard toquality (natural sugar content),
type,amount andorigin (Article 13(1)). TheDecree stipulates thattheCantons aretoprovide ayearly
report totheFederal Government concerning, among other things, theamount andquality oftheir
wineharvest inaccordance withthecategories setforth below inArticle 14(Article 13(2)).
8. Pursuant toArticle 14oftheDecree, grape must, andthuswine, isdivided intothreecategories:
Category 1: Grape mustusedinwineproduction forwhich an"appellation d'origine" (e.g.
name ofacanton, partofacanton, district, vineyard ("cru")) canbeapplied;
Category 2: Grape mustusedinwineproduction forwhich an"indication deprovenance"
(e.g.name ofthecountry, partofthecountry oratraditional designation) can
beapplied;
Category 3: Grape must usedinwine production without any"appellation d'origine" or
"indication deprovenance".
9. Theterms "appellation d'origine" and"indication deprovenance" aredefined inArticles 16
and17oftheDecree. TheCantons havetheauthority todetermine theareaofproduction andthe
righttousetheappellation oforigin. The"indication deprovenance" istobeusedonlyfortheproduct
ofgrape harvested intherelevant region. Furthermore, theCantons aregiven authority tointroduce
an"appellation d'origine contrôlée" (AOCs) forwhich theymustestablish corresponding requirements,
provided theyrespect theminimal norms specified bytheDecree withregard tothenatural sugar content
andthelimitationofgrapeharvests(Article18).Theserequirementsmayinclude,interalia,adefinition
ofproduction zones, description ofgrape variety, methods ofproduction andvinification processes.
Until today, fiveCantons orregions haveutilized thispossibility: Geneva, Valais, Vaud, Neuchâtel
andtheregion oftheLake ofBiel(Bienne). TheCantons ofTicino andSchaffhausen willprobably
dothesamenextyear. TheDecree provides thattheFederal Department (Ministry) ofPublic Economy
isincharge ofkeeping alistofAOCs forthewhole territory ofSwitzerland.
10. Asfarasthe"indication deprovenance" andtheAOC areconcerned, thegeographical
denominations usedare,asarule,based oncantonal ordistrict ("commune") names, although regions
orindividual localities arealsopermitted.
11. Inthecontext ofprotection against fraud, afurther legalbasis tobetaken intoaccount isthe
Swiss foodstuff legislation.
4TextofSection 5oftheDecree wascirculated inNovember oflastyearintheSwiss response toquestions
posedbytheEuropeanCommunityanditsMemberStatesduringthereviewoflegislationinthefieldoftrademarks
andgeographical indications.IP/C/W/76/Add.5
Page4
12. Wine trade isalsosubject tocontrol inorder toensure theprotection ofappellations. Such
control, which hasrecently beenelaborated inArticle 23(a)5oftheDecree, should offer warranties
thatwines willonlybetraded under theirauthorized indications. Ifirregularities arenoted, theyare
brought totheattention ofthecantonal health and/or agricultural authorities whoareresponsible for
taking further action. Wines arerandomly tested bycantonal health authorities forthepurpose of
detecting andterminating fraud ordeception (Swiss foodstuff legislation).
13. Thecurrentmeansofredressis,basically,legalproceedingsforwrongfuluseofadenomination.
Forinland wines, thewinecontrol testandtherelevant regulations ofthegiven Canton areapplicable.
AlistofSwiss geographical indications isbeing prepared inconnection withthefuture bilateral treaty
between Switzerland andtheEuropean Union. Withregard toforeign geographical indications, special
mention should bemade ofthebilateral treaties concluded bySwitzerland withanumber ofcountries6;
theyallcontain alistofprotected geographical indications, including appellations oforigin. Ifthere
isnotreaty existing, protection isavailable under theapplicable laws, including thefederal foodstuff
legislation. Inparticular, theTrademark Lawprovides forvarious judicial measures. Forexample,
anyone whointentionally usesanincorrect indication ofsource oradesignation which canbeconfused
withanincorrect indication ofsource, orwhootherwise violates theprohibitions ofArticle 47(3) of
theTrademark Law, isliable toimprisonment ofuptooneyearorafineofupto100,000 francs
(Article 64,"UseofIncorrect Indications ofSource"). Itisnoteworthy thatunder thelatter provision,
itisnotonlyincorrect geographical indications which areproscribed, butalsocorrect indications which
are,ineffect, fraudulent ordeceptive. Anytrademark bearing afalsegeographical indication forwines
canbeinvalidated viaadeclaration ofnullity ofthetrademark registration (Article 52).Thefraudulent
useofatrademark isalsopunishable byimprisonment orfine(Article 62).
5RS916.140.1: amendment of21June 1996, entered intoforce on1July1997 withtheOrdinance onthe
Control ofWine Trade.
6Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain. Thetreaties have been notified
in1996 (seedocument IP/N/4/CHE/1).