The Legal 500

Revised Swiss Rules of International Arbitration - July 2012

The Swiss Rules of International Arbitration (“Swiss Rules”) were adopted in 2004 with an aim to replacing the existing arbitration rules of the different Swiss Chambers of Commerce (Basel, Berne, Geneva, Neuchâtel, Ticino, Vaud and Zurich) by one set of rules based on the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.

olympic games, ambush marketing and athletes‘ rights - July 2012

The insolvency of Petroplus has increased the few debt moratorium cases by one and reminded us of its importance.

Distribution channel management – Swiss competition law risks

• IFPI: pending investigation regarding restriction of parallel imports of records;
• Jura: pending investigation regarding restriction of parallel imports of household and electronic devices;
• Care on Skin: pending investigation regarding restriction of parallel imports and online sales of cosmetics; and
• various preliminary investigations regarding restriction of parallel imports of balcony glass, electronic devices, electric bikes, motor bikes, etc.

Competition rules for online distribution clarified

In the last few years, the Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) has been acting aggressively against any prevention or restriction of parallel and direct imports. 

Preventive Taking of Evidence to Assess Risks and Chances of Litigation

Litigation is not primarily costly due to court and lawyers fees, but first and foremost due to rather uncertain chances of success. 

HOW TO TAKE BEST ADVANTAGE OF THIS NEW TAX PRIVILEGE?

The new legislation applies to any shareholders’ contributions
made since 1 January 1997 and is applicable on
all three federal levels. This reform represents a substantial
change in Swiss tax law and is one of the key
elements in the Swiss Corporate Tax Reform II.

Swiss (IP) litigation on the brink of some major changes

Charitable Foundations and Associations in Switzerland - FR Series

The legal argument over whether Nestlé Schweiz AG (“Nestlé”) may introduce its bitesize-snack KIT KAT POP CHOC into the Swiss market is fi nally settled.

How can the government’s attitude and approach to internet issues best be described? The government has recently abandoned two bills specifically aimed at regulating the civil and criminal aspects of the provision of internet services (in 2005 and 2008 respectively). After a few years of discussion, the government finally determined that the current legislation suffices to regulate the civil and criminal aspects of the provision of internet services and that a specific regulation along the lines of the EU model was not necessary. It considered that a new regulation would raise further issues and would quickly be overtaken by the development of new technologies. Instead, it promoted a status quo situation, except for spamming, which is now regulated under the Unfair Competition Act as amended on 24 March 2006.

In Switzerland, public competition enforcement is a federal matter. The main enforcing authority is the Swiss Competition Commission (‘Comco’). The Comco is supported by its Secretariat (‘the Secretariat’) which conducts investigations and prepares the Comco’s decisions in administrative procedure.

conThe “Panton Chair” decision by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court – the end of the 3-D mark as such?

As at beginning 2009 the fi rst set of statutory changes related to the corporate tax reform II (the “Reform”) will be enacted. The Reform extends the so called corporate tax reform I of 1998 which, among other things, eased the taxation of holding structures and abolished tax on equity at federal level.

The Swiss charitable foundation is an estate planning vehicle suitable for international philanthropists. It provides a worldwide-recognized solution to private inheritance, while at the same time benefiting society as a whole. The Swiss Civil Code and Swiss tax legislation, the Guidelines on the Incorporation of Foundations issued by the Federal Department of the Interior and the Circular of the Federal Tax Administration dated July 8th, 1994 ensure a workable and secure legal framework.

Amended law with respect to the revised limited liability company (hereafter “LLC”, Sàrl/GmbH), auditing law and other miscellaneous corporate law provisions

After a long wait, the revisions to the Swiss Data Protection Act adopted in spring 2006 came into force on 1 January 2008. The amendments have two main goals: (1) to create more transparency for individuals and companies whose personal data is processed and (2) to introduce more self regulation. This article describes the principal changes to the previous law.

This article focuses on the changes in the area of biotechnology. After analysing the scope of patentability in the biotech field under the new Swiss Patent Act, we will briefly review some limitations to the patent holder’s rights.

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Presumably mid-next year, Switzerland will add to the growing number of countries having introduced corporate criminal liability as a means of law enforcement.

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In a recent decision the Swiss Federal Appeal Commission for Intellectual Property explicitly broke with the long-standing practice established by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property with regard to trademarks with geographical content.

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First Dawn Raids of Swiss Competition Authority – A Reason to Worry?

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Search-Spider makes lawful use of the web

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Is this the End for Price Fixing in the Swiss Book Trade?

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E i n f ü h r u n g

Die Realisierung neuer und innovativer Ideen und Produkte namentlich von Jungunternehmen verlangt nach einer entsprechenden Finanzierung. Weil die Erfolgsaussichten zu Beginn des Wachstums schwer abzuschätzen und Sicherheiten für Bankkredite kaum oder nicht vorhanden sind, steigt der Bedarf nach alternativen Finanzierungsmethoden. Die Banken sind im traditionellen Firmenkreditgeschäft zunehmend zurückhaltend. Eine ähnliche Situation ist auch vermehrt bei Unternehmensübernahmen festzustellen. Die Finanzierung von Jungunternehmen und Unternehmensübernahmen mit Mezzanine stellt eine solche alternative Finanzierungsmethode dar, die sich auch in der Schweiz zunehmender Beliebtheit und Verbreitung erfreut.

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Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand.

Putt’s Law (http://www.quotationspage.com/)

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Corporate Crime Prevention - New: The Duty to Take Precautions (Verhinderung von Straftaten in Unternehmen - Neu: Die Pflicht zur Vorsorge)

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