How can I protect intellectual property?

Various types of protection are provided for intellectual property:

• Inventions in a technical field can be protected by patents.
• Trademarks are protected under trademark law.
• Designs are protected under design law.
• Works of literature and art as well as computer software are protected under copyright law.
• Plant varieties and semiconductor topographies are protected under the Plant Varieties and Topographies Acts.

In addition, unfair competition law protects you, under certain conditions, against deceptive or unfair acts of a third party.

Depending on top level domain, domains names are subject to various rules or agreements and have strong interactions with trademark and unfair competition law.

A careful assessment allows to pinpoint the intellectual property rights that can be used to protect your interests. Often, the best protection results from a combination of different types of rights.

Do I have to register my intellectual property?

Generally, copyright protection does not require a formal registration of your rights. All other types of intellectual property (patents, trademarks, designs, plant varieties and semiconductor topographies) require a special registration. Domain names must also be registered.