– Federal Act on the Protection of New Plant Varieties of March 20, 1975, in force since June 1, 1977; last amendments in force since January 1, 2011.
– Ordinance on the Protection of New Plant Varieties of June 25, 2008, in force since September 1, 2008.

– International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), since July 10, 1977, Geneva Act of 1978, since November 8, 1981 and 1991 Act, since September 1, 2008.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since July 1, 1995.

Applicant: individual or legal entities residing in Switzerland. 

Foreign applicants: must appoint a local representative. 

Definition: any new, distinct, stable and uniform variety of cultivars, clone, stock or hybrid may be protected whatever the origin, artificial or natural.

Kinds of plants: rights can only be obtained for a list of species which is amplified from time to time by additional declarations. 

Novelty: the new variety must be clearly distinguishable by one or more important characteristics from any other known variety. Such characteristics may be of morphologic (the form) or of physiologic nature. Period of grace: the novelty is not destroyed by commercial use by the breeder during a period of one year in Switzerland and four years (six for some varieties) outside Switzerland.

Priority: twelve months from the filing date in another state of the UPOV.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney, simply signed by the applicant;
2. Application form – may be signed by an agent;
3. Form proposing a denomination of the variety;
4. Form claiming priority, if applicable;
5. A technical description on a form provided for each kind of plant accompanied by photographs or drawings in some cases;
6. Application fee.

Examination procedure: the application is first examined to determine whether it is in compliance with the law. Within three months, the application is transmitted to the examination service. The applicant is then called to deliver the material for the multiplication of the new variety. If possible, the applicant should indicate a program of culture for the control trials. The applicant is entitled to visit the culture on the spot.

Opposition: possible within three months after publication of the application.

Granting: if the examination service concludes that the examination has furnished sufficient results, an examination report is prepared and submitted to the applicant. If the examination report is positive, the protection title is granted and registered. 

Publication: after granting, the decision is published in the “Official Gazette of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks”.

Duration: twenty-five or thirty years, depending on the variety.

Controls: if the requirements regarding the characteristics of the variety are no longer fulfilled, the examination service may require any necessary material or information to carry out a test from the plant breeder. 

Annuities: are due, beginning one year after the date of the granting decision.

Assignment: possible.

License: possible.

Infringement: punished under civil and penal legislation.

Cancellation: the Office can cancel the registration if (a) the breeder does not present material for multiplication, documents and necessary indications for the control within the time period given by the Office; (b) the breeder does not pay the annual renewal fee; (c) it has been stated that the variety is no longer uniform or stable. 

Nullification: the Judge can declare the nullity of the registration if it has been shown that (a) the variety was not new or distinct when the registration was granted; (b) the variety was not uniform or stable when the registration was granted; (c) the registration was granted to a person not entitled.

Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG), Division of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Mattenhofstrasse 5, 3003 Bern, tel (+41-31) 322 2511, fax (+41-31) 322 2634,
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; Internet address: www.blw.admin.ch

Agents: see below under “Agents“.