Unfair Competition Act (UCA)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only, has no legal force and may not be relied on in legal proceedings.
Section 1 Unlawfulness of Unfair Competition
Art. 2 Principle
Any conduct or business practice that is misleading or which otherwise violates the principle of good faith such that it influences the relationship between competitors or between suppliers and customers is unfair and unlawful.
Art. 3 Unfair advertising and sales methods and other unlawful conduct
1 A person acts unfairly if they: a. disparage others, their goods, work, services, prices or their business relationships by making incorrect, misleading or unnecessarily harmful statements; b. provide incorrect or misleading information about themselves, their business, their business name, their goods, works or services, their prices, their volume in stock, the nature of the sales transaction or about their business relationships or benefit third parties in competition through such conduct; c. use incorrect titles or professional designations that are likely to give the impression that they hold special qualifications or skills; d. take measures that are likely to cause confusion with the goods, works, services or the business operations of others; e. compare themselves, their goods, works, services or their prices in an incorrect, misleading, unnecessarily disparaging or plagiaristic way with others, their goods, works, services or prices or benefit third parties in competition thr
Para. 1 let. b — Amended by No I of the FA of 24 March 1995, in force since 1 Nov. 1995 (AS 1995 4086; BBl 1994 III 442). Para. 1 let. k — Amended by Annex 2 No II 2 of the FA of 23 March 2001 on Consumer Credit, in force since 1 Jan. 2003 (AS 2002 3846; BBl 1999 III 3155). Para. 1 let. l — Amended by Annex 2 No II 2 of the FA of 23 March 2001 on Consumer Credit, in force since 1 Jan. 2003 (AS 2002 3846; BBl 1999 III 3155). Para. 1 let. m — Amended by No II of the FA of 13 Dec. 2013 (Repeal of P
Art. 3a Discrimination in long-distance trading
1 A person acts unfairly towards a customer in Switzerland in particular if, in long-distance trading, without objective justification, on the basis of the customer’s nationality, place of residence, place of establishment, the registered office of the customer’s payment service provider or the place of issue of the customer’s means of payment: a. they discriminate in relation to the price or terms of payment; b. they block or restrict the customer’s access to an online portal; or c. they redirect the customer to a version of the online portal other than the one originally visited without the customer’s consent. 2 This provision does not apply to non-economic services of general interest; financial services; electronic communication services; public transport services; services provided by temporary employment agencies; healthcare services; games of chance that require a monetary stake, including lotteries, games of chance in casinos and betting; private security services; social servi
Art. 3a — Inserted by No II of the FA of 19 March 2021, in force since 1 Jan. 2022 (AS 2021 576; BBl 2019 4877).
Art. 4 Inducement to breach or terminate a contract
A person acts unfairly in particular if they: a. induce a customer to breach a contract in order to enter into a contract with that customer; b. … c. induce employees, agents or other auxiliary personnel to betray or find out manufacturing or trade secrets belonging to their employer or client; d. induce a consumer who has entered into a consumer credit agreement to cancel the agreement in order to enter into an agreement with that consumer.
let. b — Repealed by Art. 2 No 1 of the FD of 7 Oct. 2005 on the Adoption and Implementation of the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and its Additional Protocol, with effect from 1 July 2006 (AS 2006 2371; BBl 2004 6983). let. d — Amended by No II of the FA of 13 Dec. 2013 (Repeal of Provisions on Pre-Payment Agreements), in force since 1 July 2014 (AS 2014 869; BBl 2013 4631 5793).
Art. 4a Bribery and accepting bribes
1 A person acts unfairly if they: a. offer, promise or grant an undue advantage to an employee, a company member, an agent or another auxiliary person of a third party in the private sector in connection with the latter's official or business activity in return for an act or omission in breach of the latter's duty or subject to their discretion for the former's benefit or for the benefit of a third party; b. as an employee, a company member, an agent or another auxiliary person of a third party in the private sector solicit the offer or promise of or accept an undue advantage in connection with their official or business activity in return for an act or omission in breach of their duty or subject to their discretion for their own benefit or for the benefit of a third party. 2 Advantages contractually approved by the third party and minor, socially customary advantages are not undue advantages.
Art. 4a — Inserted by Art. 2 No 1 of the FD of 7 Oct. 2005 on the Adoption and Implementation of the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and its Additional Protocol, in force since 1 July 2006 (AS 2006 2371; BBl 2004 6983). Para. 1 let. b — The correction by the FA Drafting Committee of 10 Dec. 2015, published on 31 Dec. 2015, relates to the Italian text only (AS 2015 5999).
Art. 5 Exploiting the work of others
A person acts unfairly in particular if they: a. exploit a work product entrusted to them, such as an offer, calculation or plan, without authorisation; b. exploit a third party’s work product, such as an offer, calculation or plan, even though they must know that it was given or made accessible to them without authorisation; c. take over and exploit another person's work product that is ready for the market by means of technical reproduction processes without any reasonable effort of their own.
Art. 6 Breach of manufacturing and trade secrecy
A person acts unfairly in particular if they exploit or disclose to others manufacturing or trade secrets that they have found out or otherwise unlawfully obtained.
Art. 7 Non-compliance with conditions of employment
A person acts unfairly in particular if they do not comply with conditions of employment that also apply to competitors by legal rule or agreement, or which are customary in the profession or location concerned.
Art. 8 Use of improper terms and conditions of business
A person acts unfairly in particular if they use general terms and conditions of business that provide for a considerable and unjustified imbalance between contractual rights and contractual obligations to the prejudice of consumers in a manner that is in breach of good faith.
Art. 8 — Amended by No I of the FA of 17 June 2011, in force since 1 July 2012 (AS 2011 4909; BBl 2009 6151).
Art. 8a Use of parity clauses in dealings with accommodation businesses
A person acts unfairly in particular if, as the operator of an online platform for booking accommodation services, they apply general terms and conditions of business that restrict, directly or indirectly, the ability of accommodation businesses to fix prices and make offers by means of parity clauses, in particular in relation to prices, availability or conditions.
Art. 8a — Inserted by No I of the FA of 17 June 2022, in force since 1 Dec. 2022 (AS 2022 690; BBl 2021 2858).
Section 2 Procedural Law Provisions
Amended by Annex 1 No II 15 of the Civil Procedure Code of 19 Dec. 2008, in force since 1 Jan. 2011 (AS 2010 1739; BBl 2006 7221).
Art. 9 Right to take legal action
1 Any person who is threatened with or sustains damage to their customer base, their credit or professional reputation, their business operations or otherwise to their economic interests as a result of unfair competition may request the court: a. to prohibit imminent damage; b. to redress existing damage; c. to determine the illegality of the damage if this is continuing to have a disruptive effect. 2 They may in particular request that notice of any correction or the judgment be given to third parties or be published. 3 They may also bring an action pursuant to the Code of Obligations for damages and satisfaction and for delivery of profits in accordance with the provisions on agency without authority.
Art. 9 — Amended by Annex 1 No II 15 of the Civil Procedure Code of 19 Dec. 2008, in force since 1 Jan. 2011 (AS 2010 1739; BBl 2006 7221). Para. 3 — SR 220
Art. 10 Right of customers, organisations and the Confederation to take legal action
1 The actions under Article 9 are also available to customers whose economic interests are threatened or damaged by unfair competition. 2 In addition, the following entities may bring actions under Article 9 paragraphs 1 and 2: a. professional and trade associations which are authorised under their articles to safeguard the economic interests of their members; b. organisations of national or regional importance which, in accordance with their articles, are dedicated to consumer protection; c. ... 3 The Confederation may also bring actions under Article 9 paragraphs 1 and 2 if it regards it as necessary in order to protect the public interest, and in particular if: a. Switzerland's reputation abroad is threatened or damaged and the persons whose economic interests are affected are based abroad; or b. the interests of several persons or of a group of members of an industry or other collective interests are threatened or damaged. 4 Where required in order to protect the public interest, t
Art. 10 — Amended by Annex 1 No II 15 of the Civil Procedure Code of 19 Dec. 2008, in force since 1 Jan. 2011 (AS 2010 1739; BBl 2006 7221). Para. 2 let. c — Inserted by No I of the FA of 20 March 1992 (AS 1992 1514; BBl 1992 I 355). Repealed by No I of the FA of 17 June 2011, with effect from 1 April 2012 (AS 2011 4909; BBl 2009 6151). Para. 3 let. b — Inserted by No I of the FA of 17 June 2011, in force since 1 April 2012 (AS 2011 4909; BBl 2009 6151). Para. 4 — Inserted by No I of the FA of 1
Art. 11 Actions against the employers
If employees or other auxiliary persons compete unfairly in the course of their official or business activities, an action under Article 9 paragraphs 1 and 2 may also be brought against their employers.
Art. 12 and 13
Repealed by Annex 1 No II 15 of the Civil Procedure Code of 19 Dec. 2008, with effect from 1 Jan. 2011 (AS 2010 1739; BBl 2006 7221).
Art. 13a Reverse onus
1 The court may require an advertiser to prove that claims in their advertising are accurate if this appears appropriate having taken account of the legitimate interests of the advertiser and of the other parties to the proceedings. 2 ...
Art. 13a — Inserted by No I of the FA of 18 June 1993, in force since 1 April 1994 (AS 1994 375; BBl 1993 I 805). Para. 2 — Repealed by Annex 1 No II 15 of the Civil Procedure Code of 19 Dec. 2008, with effect from 1 Jan. 2011 (AS 2010 1739; BBl 2006 7221).
Art. 14 and 15
Repealed by Annex 1 No II 15 of the Civil Procedure Code of 19 Dec. 2008, with effect from 1 Jan. 2011 (AS 2010 1739; BBl 2006 7221).