Patent Court Act (PatCA)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Section 1 Applicable Law
Art. 27
Proceedings before the Federal Patent Court are governed by the Civil Procedure Code of 19 December 2008, unless otherwise provided in the Patent Act of 25 June 1954 or this Act.
SR 272 SR 232.14
Section 2 Recusal
Art. 28
Non-permanent judges shall recuse themselves in proceedings where a member of the judge’s law firm or patent law firm or employer represents one of the parties.
Section 3 Representation of Parties
Art. 29
1 In proceedings concerning the validity of a patent, patent attorneys may also represent parties before the Federal Patent Court as provided for in Article 2 of the Patent Attorney Act of 20 March 2009 provided that they engage in independent practice. 2 Proof of independent practice as a patent attorney is furnished by way of suitable documentation at the request of the Federal Patent Court. 3 In all proceedings before the Federal Patent Court, patent attorneys as defined in Article 2 of the Patent Attorney Act of 20 March 2009 shall be given the opportunity to present technical arguments concerning the facts of the case.
Para. 1 — SR 935.62
Section 4 Litigation Costs and Legal Aid
Art. 30 Litigation costs
Litigation costs are: a. court costs; b. representation costs.
Art. 31 Court costs
1 Court costs are: a. court fees; b. expenses, namely costs for photocopying legal briefs; posting summonses and other items of service; translations, with the exception of those between the official languages; as well as compensation for experts and witnesses. 2 The amount of the court fees is governed by the value in dispute, the scale and complexity of the case, the form of the proceedings, and the financial circumstances of the parties. 3 As a general rule, they amount to between 1,000 and 150,000 francs. 4 In setting the amount of the court fees, the Federal Patent Court may depart from the framework of paragraph 3 where this is justified by special reasons. 5 It may waive court costs where they have not been occasioned by one of the parties or a third party.
Art. 32 Representation costs
The award of compensation for representation costs by the Federal Patent Court is made in accordance with the schedule of rates (Art. 33). The parties may submit an invoice.
Art. 33 Schedule of rates
The Federal Patent Court establishes the rates for litigation costs.
Art. 34 Imposition of litigation costs in legal aid cases
1 Where the party receiving legal aid does not prevail, the litigation costs are charged as follows: a. Counsel providing free legal representation receives appropriate compensation from the Federal Patent Court. b. The court costs are borne by the Federal Patent Court. c. The opposing party is reimbursed the advance on costs paid by it. d. The party receiving legal aid pays the opposing party's representation costs. 2 Where the party receiving legal aid prevails and where it is presumed or known that the representation costs are not recoverable from the opposing party, counsel providing free legal representation receives appropriate compensation from the Court’s cashier's office. The party receiving legal aid reimburses the court when it is later in a position to do so.
Section 5 Conduct of Proceedings and Procedural Fo
Art. 35 Instructing judge
1 The President presides over proceedings in the capacity of instructing judge until a decision is made. He or she may assign this task: a. to another legally trained judge; or b. to the second permanent judge. 2 2 The instructing judge may consult a technically trained judge at any time; this judge shall act in an advisory capacity.
Para. 1 let. b — Amended by No I of the FA of 16 March 2018, in force since 1 Aug. 2018 (AS 2018 2753; BBl 2017 7527 7539).
Art. 36 Language of proceedings
1 The Court shall designate one official language as the language of proceedings. The language of the parties shall be taken into consideration where it is an official language. 2 In motions and oral hearings, each of the parties may express itself in an official language other than the language of the proceedings. 3 English may also be used provided that the Court and the parties give their consent. The judgment and procedural rulings shall be drafted in one of the official languages in any event. 4 Where a party submits documents that are not in one of the official languages or, in the case of paragraph 3, not in English, the Federal Patent Court may waive the requirement of a translation subject to the agreement of the opposing party. Otherwise it will direct that a translation should be made where this is necessary.
Section 6 Expert Opinions
Art. 37
1 Experts shall submit their opinions in writing. 2 The parties shall be afforded an opportunity to submit their position on the opinion in writing. 3 Where a technically trained judge possesses specific expertise, the judge’s expert opinion shall be entered in the court record. The parties shall be given an opportunity to submit their position on the court record.
Section 7 Commenting on the Result of the Evidence
Art. 38
Once the evidence has been taken, the Federal Patent Court shall give the parties the opportunity, on reasoned request, to comment in writing on the result of the evidence.
Section 8 Procedure and Decision for Granting and
Art. 39
1 The procedure for granting and amending the conditions of a licence as provided for in Article 40d of the Patent Act of 25 June 1954 is initiated by filing an action, in one of the forms specified by Article 130 of the Civil Procedure Code. 2 It is settled by way of a decision within one month of action being filed. 3 Otherwise the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code of 19 December 2008 pertaining to summary proceedings apply.
Para. 1 — SR 232.14 Para. 1 — SR 272 Para. 1 — Correction of 20 Dec. 2010 (AS 2010 6413).