Every day sees further trademark law restrictions: infringement proceedings possible against similar marks if they are used in trade, inability to conduct infringement proceedings against goods in transit, copying, etc.. So, there is real cause to congratulate the Swiss, who have modified their Trademark Law, taking effect on 1st July. But what are these modifications? Here are a few examples:
– The owner of a trademark may go to law against an identical or similar trademark placed on goods in transit
– The owner of a trademark may oppose any import, export or transit of counterfeit goods, including those intended for private use (there are two limitations on this: the requesting party cannot launch a criminal procedure and this private use cannot be incriminated when the goods were manufactured by the actual person themselves)
– The owner of a trademark may also inspect products suspected of being counterfeit or ask Customs to hand over copies of the said products. Here are measures that clearly show that there are loopholes throughout Trademark Law which counterfeiters can exploit to continue their trade. It is therefore of great credit to the Swiss authorities that they are making these efforts to maintain a high level of protection in their territory.
Who knows, maybe this will make other bodies think too?