Key Benefits:
1 The Federal Patent Court is the first instance court of the Confederation in the field of patents.
2 It acts as an authority before the Federal Court.
In the exercise of its judicial powers, the Federal Patent Court is independent and is subject only to the law.
1 The Federal Court exercises administrative oversight over the management of the Federal Patent Court.
2 The Federal Assembly exercises high surveillance.
3 The Federal Patent Court shall submit annually to the Federal Court its draft budget, its accounts and its management report to the Federal Assembly.
The Federal Patent Court is financed by the judicial emoluments and by contributions from the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) levied on the fees collected annually on patents.
1 The Federal Administrative Tribunal shall make its infrastructure available to the Federal Patent Court and shall provide it with the staff necessary for the performance of its administrative tasks; it shall invoice the Federal Administrative Tribunal for such services at the cost of the costs.
2 Staff performing administrative tasks on behalf of the Federal Patent Court shall be subject to the management of the Federal Patent Court.
1 Art. 57 I To 57 Q The Act of 21 March 1997 on the organisation of government and administration 2 Apply by analogy to the use of the electronic infrastructure of the Federal Administrative Tribunal by the Federal Patent Court as part of its administrative activity.
2 The Federal Patent Court shall issue the implementing provisions.
1 Introduced by ch. II 4 of the PMQ of 1 Er Oct. 2010 (Data protection in the use of electronic infrastructure), in force since 1 Er April 2012 ( RO 2012 941 ; FF 2009 7693 ).
2 RS 172.010
The Federal Patent Court shall hold its hearings at the seat of the Federal Administrative Tribunal. The latter is also the place of service of ordinary judges, clerks and administrative staff.
Where circumstances warrant, the Federal Patent Court may hold its hearings in another place. The cantons shall make the necessary infrastructure available free of charge.
1 The Federal Patent Court is composed of judges with legal training and judges with technical training. Judges must have knowledge attested to in patent law.
2 The Federal Patent Court shall consist of two ordinary judges and a sufficient number of deputy judges. The majority of substitute judges must have technical training.
1 The Federal Assembly elects the judges.
2 Anyone who has the right to vote in federal matters is eligible.
3 The Federal Assembly and the Judicial Commission ensure a fair representation of technical fields and official languages.
4 The IPI, the specialized organizations and interested circles active in the field of patents can be consulted in the preparation of the election.
1 Judges may not be members of the Federal Assembly or of the Federal Council or judges in a federal court.
2 They shall not engage in any activity which may prejudice the exercise of their function as judge, the independence of the court or its reputation.
3 They cannot perform any official duties for a foreign state.
4 Ordinary judges may not represent third parties on a professional basis before the courts.
5 Ordinary full-time judges may not perform any function in the service of a canton or engage in any other gainful occupation. Nor can they be members of the management, the administration, the supervisory body or the review body of a commercial undertaking.
Regular part-time judges must obtain the permission of the court's management to engage in a gainful occupation outside the court.
1 At the same time, they cannot be judges of the Federal Patent Court:
2 Regulations under para. 1, let. D, apply by analogy to persons who have a long-term common household.
1 The period of office of judges shall be six years. Judges may be re-elected.
2 When a judge reaches the age of 68, his period of office ends at the end of the calendar year. 1
3 Vacancies are vacant for the remainder of the period.
1 New content according to the c. I 2 of the LF of 16 March 2012 (Increase in the maximum age of judges), in force since 1 Er Dec. 2012 ( RO 2012 5647 ; FF 2011 8255 8273).
The authority which elected a judge may revoke it before the end of its period of office:
1 Before taking office, the judges undertake to conscientiously carry out their duties.
2 They swear an oath before the plenary.
3 The oath may be replaced by a solemn promise.
1 Repealed by c. 5 of the annex to the PMQ of 17 June 2011 (Consideration of requests to lift immunity), with effect from 5 Dec. 2011 ( RO 2011 4627 ; FF 2010 6719 6759).
The Federal Assembly regulates the working reports and the treatment of judges by an ordinance.
1 The Federal Assembly elects the President of the Federal Patent Court from among the ordinary judges.
2 The President is elected for an entire period of office. It can be renewed in its functions.
3 It must have legal training.
4 He chairs the Full Court and represents the court.
5 Substituting is provided by the Vice-President.
1 The Plenary Court shall elect the Vice-President from among the judges with legal training and the other members of the tribunal's management among the judges of the Court.
2 The Plenary Court may only sit or decide by way of circulation with the participation of at least two-thirds of the judges.
1 The tribunal's management is responsible for the administration of the court.
2 It consists of three judges, namely the ordinary judges and the Vice-President. If the function of vice-chairperson is assumed by an ordinary judge, the Plenary Court shall elect the third member from among the alternate judges. A regulation may provide for the appointment of a replacement.
3 The tribunal's management is responsible for:
1 As a general rule, the court shall decide on three judges, at least one of whom shall have technical training and legal training.
2 The court shall decide on five judges, at least one of whom shall have technical training and legal training, if ordered by the President in the interests of the development of the law or the uniformity of the case-law.
3 The court shall decide at least seven judges, at least one of whom shall have legal training, if the President orders it to assess several technical fields in a dispute.
4 Judges with technical training shall serve in the fields of dispute.
5 Except in cases of force majeure, at least one ordinary judge must be a member of the court to decide.
1 The plenary and the management of the court shall take the decisions and conduct the elections by an absolute majority of the votes.
2 In the case of a tie, that of the President shall be paramount; if it is an election or a commitment, the fate shall decide.
3 The deputy judges and ordinary part-time judges shall have one vote.
4 Judges who have a personal interest in a case recuse themselves.
1 The President shall act as a single judge:
2 It may delegate these tasks in whole or in part to other judges with legal training.
3 If required by legal or factual circumstances, it may decide on requests for provisional measures with two other judges. It shall act with two other judges where the understanding of the technical facts is of particular importance.
1 Clerks participate in the investigation and adjudication of cases. They have an advisory voice.
2 They prepare reports under the responsibility of a judge and write the judgments of the Federal Patent Court.
3 They perform the other tasks assigned to them by the Regulation.
4 The working reports and the treatment of the clerks are governed by the Federal Act of 24 March 2000 on the personnel of the Confederation 1 .
The Federal Patent Court informs the public about its case law.
1 The Federal Patent Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction:
2 It has the power to judge other civil actions which have a connection with patents, in particular those relating to the ownership or transfer of patents. The jurisdiction of the Federal Patent Court does not exclude that of the cantonal courts.
3 If a cantonal court is to rule on the question referred for a preliminary ruling or on the exception of invalidity or infringement of a patent, the court shall fix an appropriate time limit for the parties to bring the action for a declaration of invalidity or infringement before the Federal Court of Patents. The cantonal court shall suspend the proceedings until the decision of the Federal Patent Court has entered into force. If the Federal Patent Court is not seized within the time limit, the cantonal court shall resume the proceedings, and the question or exception shall not be taken into account.
4 If the defendant makes a counterclaim for invalidity or infringement of a patent before the cantonal court, the latter shall forward the two applications to the Federal Patent Court.
The deputy judges shall recuse themselves in proceedings in which a party is represented by a person who works in the same study of lawyers, in the same patent office or in the same employer.
1 A patent attorney within the meaning of s. 2 of the Law of 20 March 2009 on patent attorneys 1 May represent a party before the Federal Patent Court in a procedure concerning the validity of a patent, provided that it exercises its profession independently.
2 At the request of the Federal Patent Court, he must prove that he is practising his profession independently by means of appropriate documents.
3 A patent attorney within the meaning of s. 2 of the Law of 20 March 2009 on patent attorneys may make a technical presentation of the facts in all proceedings of the Federal Patent Court.
Fees include:
1 Legal fees include:
2 The judicial fee is calculated on the basis of the disputed value, the magnitude and difficulty of the case, the manner in which the parties are proceeding and their financial situation.
3 As a general rule, the amount of the judicial fee is between 1000 and 150,000 francs.
4 The Federal Patent Court may deviate from the range provided for in para. 3 if there are specific reasons for this.
5 It may waive recovery of legal costs that have not been caused by a party or by third parties.
The Federal Patent Court shall pay the costs in accordance with the tariff referred to in Art. 33. The parties may file a fee.
The Federal Patent Court fixes the fee.
1 Where the party for the benefit of the legal aid is unsuccessful, the costs shall be allocated as follows:
2 Where the party for the benefit of the legal aid is successful, the legal counsel of the court shall be paid fairly by the court where the costs cannot be obtained from the other party or are not Likely not. The party for the benefit of legal aid shall reimburse the court when it is in a position to do so.
1 The President shall conduct the proceedings as an Instructor Judge up to the date of the judgment; he may entrust this task to another judge with legal training.
2 The investigating judge may at any time call upon a judge with technical training, who shall have an advisory opinion.
1 The court designates one of the official languages as the language of the proceedings. It takes into account the language of the parties if it is an official language.
2 Each party may use an official language other than that of the procedure for pleadings and during the proceedings.
3 English can be used with the agreement of the court and the parties. Judgments and decisions relating to the procedure are always written in an official language.
4 If a party produces documents that are not written in either official language or in English in the case referred to in para. 3, the court may, subject to the agreement of the opposing party, not require translation. He orders a translation if necessary.
1 Any expertise is made in writing.
2 The parties have the opportunity to express their views in writing on the expertise.
3 If a judge with technical training has specialized knowledge of substance, his opinions shall be recorded in the minutes. The parties have the opportunity to vote on the Minutes.
At the end of the administration of the evidence, the Federal Patent Court shall give the parties the opportunity, upon reasoned request, to make a written decision on the results of the administration of evidence.
1 The procedure for granting a licence or amending the conditions for the grant of a licence within the meaning of s. 40 D The Patents Act of June 25, 1954 1 Is open by an action of one of the forms set out in s. 130 of the Civil Procedure Code 2 . 3
2 It must be closed by decision within one month of the introduction of the action.
3 Moreover, the provisions relating to the summary procedure of the Civil Procedure Code of 19 December 2008 are applicable.
The amendment to the existing law is set out in the Annex.
The Federal Patent Court shall, in its field of competence, resume the processing of proceedings which, at the time of entry into force of this Law, are pending before the cantonal courts, provided that the main proceedings have not No place.
