Since 1 January 2017, it is possible to file a simplified administrative cancellation action before the Swiss federal Institute of Intellectual Property against a trademark that has not been used for an uninterrupted period of 5 years (it was previously necessary to file a civil action before the ordinary courts, which was long and expensive).
The cancellation action can be filed by anybody and against any Swiss trademark registration or the Swiss part of an international trademark registration.
It is necessary to establish a likelihood of non-use of the trademark and therefore to produce evidences of this likelihood. A sole evidence will usually not be sufficient.
In case of partial use, the cancellation action will only affect the goods/services for which the mark is not used.
The official fee is CHF. 800.
Before filing a trademark opposition, we strongly advise you to carefully check that the mark on which the opposition is based is actually used. The defendant may counter-attack and file a cancellation action against the opponent’s trademark.
Should you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact us.
