Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property


The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, based in Bern, is an agency of the federal administration of Switzerland responsible for patents, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs and copyright.
It is part of the Federal Department of Justice and Police. Since 1996, it operates as an autonomous agency with control of its own budget. The IPI had around 265 employees in 2014.

History

The Federal Intellectual Property Agency was founded on 15 November 1888. Albert Einstein worked there as a patent clerk for several years, including 1905, his Annus Mirabilis. That year, while continuing to work on patents, Einstein published four groundbreaking papers that are fundamental to modern physics.
The agency 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.

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:
Director Generals
Technical experts