Lovely for football fans, but not the real thing: Swiss flag is a square

Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss flag, the word “Swiss” and “Made in Switzerland” are getting logo-like protection, with tighter restrictions on their use in Switzerland and abroad. The Swiss Federal Council Wednesday 18 November recommended key changes to intellectual property coverage for “Swissness” that are designed to make up for a current lack of precision.

Consumers will benefit, says the government, noting that more than 50 percent of consumers in a recent poll said they would be willing to pay up to twice the price for several Swiss food products. Letter box companies will be hurt, says Bern, since they will no longer be able to say they are Swiss.

The legal changes are designed to ensure that the CHF6 billion a year, or 1 percent of Swiss GDP attributable to the idea of Swiss quality, has stronger legal backing.

The government calculates that the value added by a Swiss label can be as high as 20 percent for agricultural goods such as food and wine.

A growing number of companies have therefore been using “Swiss made” or “Swiss quality” on their products, but with growing use comes increased abuse, the government’s new guidelines note. The watch industry, which has long benefited from the “Swiss made” label, will also see clearer rules covering its use.

Five key changes are:

• natural products such as plants and mineral water – varies by product type but in general “Swiss” is dependent on the area from which it comes
• for transformed natural products, which includes most foods, 80 percent of the weight of the primary material making up the product must come from Switzerland, with a major exception: when the material cannot be found in Switzerland (cocoa, for the chocolate industry, for example)
• for industrial products, including machines and knives, at least 60 percent of the work costs must be for work done in Switzerland, but this can include research and development costs
• industrial and natural transformed products must meet another criterion, which is cumulative: the activity which gives the product its “essential nature” must be carried out in Switzerland
• a company can offer “Swiss” services, as long as its head office is in Switzerland and the services it provides are actually carried out in Switzerland.

A legal Swiss mouse pad, made for www.swissworld.org

The Swiss Intellectual Property Office carries details of the new “Made in Switzerland” proposed legislative changes, which must now be approved by parliament.

The legislative change started some years ago, with the proposed revisions open to consultation by industry and interested parties in 2008.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.