Switzerland introduces substantive examinations with Patent Act reform

Key changes in the Swiss Patent Act include a mandatory prior-art search, optional full substantive examination, the acceptance of English-language technical documents and a new appeal system.

In March 2024, the Federal Assembly passed a partial revision of the Patent Act, introducing new features to the Swiss patent system. The Swiss government, as supported by various bodies such as the Association of the Swiss Patent and Trademark Attorneys (VSP – ASCPI – ASPTA), had proposed the changes to ensure a more thorough and transparent examination and appeal procedure.

The ordinance was submitted for public consultation from 30 April to 22 August 2025. According to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), the draft of the completely revised Patents Ordinance was met with broad approval. The Federal Council approved it at its meeting on 20 May and decided that the modernised patent legislation will come into force on 1 January 2027.

Most of the core proposals discussed at the time have now been formally adopted.

Full examination

One of the most significant changes is the full substantive examination. According to a press release from the Swiss Federal Authorities, a search on the state of the art will be conducted for every patent application in future. Until now, the IPI mainly examined patents for formal requirements and excluded subject matter, but not comprehensively for novelty and inventive step.

In future, applicants will be able to either request a partially examined patent, or have the application fully examined for novelty and inventive step in line with international standards. The goal is to create a stronger, more reliable Swiss patent comparable to fully examined foreign patents.

Mandatory search report

Furthermore, the IPI will produce a mandatory search report to establish the prior art in the field of the invention. Each patent will have this attached. The report, like those which the European Patent Office produces, will indicate patentable subject matter. Currently, a patent application in Switzerland must merely meet the necessary formalities, for example typography, in order for an examiner to certify a patent as partially granted. Examiners do not scrutinise the prior art. Full searches were optional and had to be obtained separately.

The goal is to improve transparency and patent quality. The changes mean that, like at the EPO, an opponent can challenge a granted patent application on the merits — namely novelty or inventive step.

Applicants and third parties may appeal against IPI decisions. These appeals will now be judged by the Federal Patent Court instead of the Federal Administrative Court. The opposition procedure at the IPI, which to date has never been used, is to be abolished.

Language and cost

In future, technical documents may also be filed in English. This reduces translation costs and could make the Swiss system more attractive for international applicants.

As the IPI points out in their FAQs, the reform will make the system more costly. Patent applicants will therefore be charged a search fee of 500 Swiss francs in addition to the application fee of 200 Swiss francs. The latter will now cover 15 claims instead of ten.

According to the IPI, most patent applications that are already pending when the new legislation comes into force and for which the examination fee has not yet been paid will automatically be subject to the new legislation from that date. The examination of these patents will therefore be completed in accordance with the new legislation.

However, an exception will be made for patent applications at a very advanced stage whose examination fee was paid before 1 January 2027 and that have not been deferred at that point in time. The examination of these applications will be completed in accordance with current legislation. In such cases, it will not be possible to check for novelty and inventive step. Even if the examination fee has already been paid, pending applications can be examined under the new legislation at the request of the patentee.

Switzerland did not introduce a utility model system, although this had occasionally been discussed during earlier reform debates. In Switzerland, certain laws can still be challenged through an optional referendum process. However, no successful referendum was launched against this patent reform. As a result, the revision is now considered politically and legally finalised and will come into effect in early 2027.