Intellectual property

Intellectual property is a generic term that covers the various laws that can protect innovations, namely: the Federal Law on the Protection of Trademarks and Indications of Origins, the Federal Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights, the Federal Law on Patents, the Federal Law on Designs and the Federal Law on Plant Varieties.

Our office offers you a wide range of services in this field, such as:

• Trademark and Indications of Origins: we advise and assist you in the registration of your trademarks (strategy, prior art searches, exchanges with the IP offices and local agents, prosecution related work including opposition proceedings), management of your portfolio (monitoring), drafting and negotiation of contracts in this field (e.g. license, distribution contract) and support in contentious related matters (litigation or arbitration).
• Copyright: we advise you in the management of your copyrights (e.g. use of blockchain), the online exploitation of copyrighted and the resulting legal issues, as well as with regard to the drafting and negotiation of contracts in this area, for example in the music and audiovisual industries.
• Patent law: we advise you on whether or not to file a patent application, help you benefit from our trusted network, assist you with the drafting and negotiation of contracts in this area (licensing, technology transfer, etc.), and act as your counsel in contentious related matters (litigation or arbitration).
• Unfair competition law: assessment in particular of the compliance of your advertising campaigns and use of various content and materials on the Internet with applicable laws and regulations, support and advice in the event of imitation or look alike products.
• Domain names: with more than 100 disputes solved in this area, whether as a WIPO Panelist or as a counsels under various TLDs (.com, .ch, .uk or .fr), we have a very solid expertise in this area to help you assess your chances of recovering a domain name or to help you build a portfolio in line with your objectives.

In addition to these main domains, you can also benefit from our support in your queries related to design law (meant to protect the aesthetic character of your products) or art law.

In the absence of any IP right, anyone can, under the exception of special circumstances that are difficult to prove, imitate your product. It is only through the registration of an intellectual property right (in particular a trademark, or a patent in the case of a technical innovation) that you can be protected against any such imitation, hence the importance of securing such rights.

As an entrepreneur, you may also consider at some point in the lifecycle of your company to be acquired out or, more simply, to seek investors as a start-up. However, since the lack of a protective title means that anyone can copy you, the search for an investor or a buyer will be all the more difficult if you do not have a patent on your innovation.

Intellectual property is a matter for specialists. To seek the services of a generalist in this field can have serious consequences, not only in terms of costs but also in terms of inadequate or even counterproductive protection or enforcement strategy. Wilhelm Gilliéron Attorneys Corp. can boast to have one of the best specialists in this field in Switzerland and can rely on a worldwide network of trusted partners.

Wilhelm Gilliéron Attorneys Corp. was founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Giving up all unnecessary legalism, our approach is pragmatic and business oriented, with the sole objective of enabling you to achieve your goals. At Wilhelm Gilliéron Attorneys, we have only one commitment: your satisfaction. Attentive to your concerns and needs, a significant part of our turnover is devoted to the development of innovative models to meet your expectations, whether in terms of pricing models or technological tools in particular. Our best R&D department is you.