Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property

The IPI logo
The IPI building on Stauffacherstrasse in Bern.

The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, or IPI (French: Institut Fédéral de la Propriété Intellectuelle, German: Eidgenössisches Institut für Geistiges Eigentum or IGE, Italian: Istituto Federale della Proprietà Intellettuale), based in Bern, is the Swiss Confederation’s agency competent for all questions concerning patents, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs and copyright.

It belongs to the Federal Department of Justice and Police. Since its conversion into a public law institution of the Confederation in 1996, it is its own legal entity and is independent of the federal budget. The IPI has approximately 260 employees (as of March 2014). The Director General of the IPI is Roland Grossenbacher.

History

The Federal Intellectual Property Agency was founded on 15 November 1888. It was renamed the Federal Office of Intellectual Property in 1978 as part of the new administrative organisation law. On 1 January 1996, it received the status of an independent public law institution and continued under the name of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI).

Mandate and services

The IPI's tasks are laid down in its own Federal Act on the Statute and Tasks of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property:[1]

Notable employees

Director Generals

Technical experts

References

  1. "Loi fédérale sur le statut et les tâches de l'Institut Fédéral de la Propriété Intellectuelle" (in French). Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. Retrieved 6 May 2014.

External links