01 · Patent registration
Swiss, European and PCT patents — quoted per matter.
Patent costs vary widely by technical complexity, claim count and jurisdiction scope. We quote per matter after a 30-minute scoping call. Coordination with registered Swiss Patentanwälte on technical prosecution.
02 · Three filing routes
National (IGE), European (EPO), international (PCT).
Swiss national patent (IGE)
Filed with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property under the Federal Patents Act (PatG). Swiss territory only. Useful when the invention is genuinely Swiss-market specific or as a base for a later international filing.
European patent (EPO)
Filed with the European Patent Office in Munich under the European Patent Convention (EPC). On grant, the European patent is validated in selected member states. Switzerland is an EPC member. Most foreign founders wanting Swiss + EU coverage file via EPO.
PCT international application
Patent Cooperation Treaty filing administered by WIPO. Used to defer national-phase decisions across 150+ countries by up to 30 months. Useful when global coverage is contemplated and budget for national filings is staged.
03 · Pricing
Custom quote per matter — patents do not fit a flat fee.
Why we don\'t publish a flat patent fee
Patent costs scale with technical complexity (chemistry and biotech far denser than mechanical), claim count, jurisdiction scope, and prosecution-round count. A one-claim software patent prosecuted in one jurisdiction with a single examiner round costs a fraction of a 30-claim biotech patent prosecuted to grant in EPO across multiple objection rounds. Honest fixed-fee pricing would either over-charge simple cases or under-deliver on complex ones.
We quote per matter after a free 30-minute scoping call. The quote covers our legal and procedural fees plus a budget envelope for office fees and patent-attorney technical work, with milestones for each phase. Cost transparency at the matter level rather than the price-list level.
04 · What the engagement covers
From patentability through grant to maintenance.
- Patentability assessment and prior-art search recommendation
- Drafting of patent specification and claims
- Filing with IGE / EPO / WIPO as relevant
- Prosecution before the office (responses to examination reports)
- Coordination with Swiss patent attorneys (registered Patentanwälte) on technical matters
- Annual maintenance fee management for granted patents
05 · Process
Scoping → drafting → filing → prosecution.
-
01
Patentability scoping
Initial review of the invention, prior-art search recommendation, route choice (national / EPO / PCT). Typically 2–4 weeks.
-
02
Drafting
Patent specification, claims, abstract drafted with technical input from the inventor. Patent attorney involved on technical matters. 4–8 weeks.
-
03
Filing
Filed with the chosen office. Filing fees paid (IGE basic fee, EPO basic fee, WIPO PCT fee depending on route).
-
04
Prosecution + grant
Examination period 18–60 months depending on office and technology field. We respond to examiner objections and prosecute to grant. Annual maintenance fees track from year 3 onwards.
06 · FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Why is patent registration quoted on a custom basis?
Patent costs scale with several factors that vary widely between cases: number of claims, technical complexity (chemistry / biotech are denser than mechanical), number of jurisdictions targeted, IGE / EPO / WIPO office fees that depend on entity size and claim count, and prosecution-round count (some applications grant after one office action, others require 3–4 rounds). Honest fixed-fee pricing for patents would either over-charge simple cases or under-deliver on complex ones. We quote per matter after a 30-minute scoping call.
Do you have a registered Swiss Patentanwalt in-house?
No — Swiss patent-attorney qualification is a separate professional track from the bar. We work with registered Swiss Patentanwälte on technical patent prosecution. Our role is the legal and procedural side: filing strategy, jurisdiction choice, prosecution coordination, and post-grant enforcement. For a fully internalised in-house patent attorney, a specialist patent boutique is typically the right address.
Should I file a Swiss national patent or go straight to EPO?
For most foreign founders the answer is EPO via direct filing or via PCT national-phase entry. Swiss-only patents are useful in two scenarios: (a) the invention is narrowly Swiss-specific (e.g., addressing a Swiss regulatory or language requirement), (b) as a priority document supporting a later international filing under the Paris Convention 12-month priority rule. For genuine cross-border commercial inventions, EPO covers Switzerland plus most of Europe in one filing.
How long does patent grant take?
Swiss IGE: 18–36 months from filing. EPO: 30–60 months. PCT national-phase entry: starts the national-phase clock after 18–30 months of international phase, then national prosecution adds the equivalent of national procedure timelines. Software and biotech tend to take longer than mechanical / chemical.
What does annual maintenance cost?
IGE annuities start at CHF 100 in year 3 and scale up to CHF 1,800 in year 20. EPO annuities apply during the application phase (after year 3) and then in each validated state once granted. Our maintenance-fee management mandate is CHF 290 per patent per year (covers any number of jurisdictions for that patent family).
Can I do a freedom-to-operate analysis with you?
Yes — but freedom-to-operate (FTO) is a different exercise from patentability. FTO checks whether your product infringes existing third-party patents, while patentability checks whether your invention can be protected. Both involve patent searches but the analytical framework is different. We quote FTO separately, typically CHF 4,500–12,000 per technology area.
07 · Get started
Tell us the invention and the target jurisdictions.
One-paragraph technical description of the invention, target jurisdictions (Switzerland only, Europe, worldwide), and any existing prior art you are aware of. We confirm route options and a written quote within 5 working days.