6.4 Publication and notification of judgements

In a copyright dispute, the court may order, at the request of the successful party, that the judgement be published at the expense of the opposing party. The court determines the form and extent of the publication (Art. 66 CopA). This right can be granted in whole or in part to the successful party, which may be either the claimant or the defendant.

This measure must be specially requested as the court will not publish the judgement ex officio.

The court determines the extent of the publication, paying particular attention to the principle of proportionality.

The publication of the judgement can be requested in all media formats or with the publication of the work itself as additional information.

The publication usually only contains the judgement and particularly the conclusions.

In view of the negative impact on the offender’s reputation when the decision is published, publication must be restricted to what is ordered in the judgement. The losing party is not automatically ordered to pay the publication costs but they may be required to pay them as part of the compensation owed to the opposing party. Therefore, the claimant must anticipate this.

TO CONSIDER

Publication and access to judgement

The court notifies the IPI (Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property) of the judgement free of charge. It does this ex officio and it is thus mandatory (Art. 66a CopA). The aim is to create an IPI information centre containing material relating to case law in intellectual property in particular. This will provide more readily accessible information on combating counterfeiting (cf. Message about the Amendment of the Patent Law and the Federal Decree on the Approval of the Patent Law Treaty and the Execution Ordinance of 23 November 2005, p. 119 – in French and German only).

FAQ

6.4-1 What are the conclusions of a judgement?

The conclusions of a judgement are the final part of a judgement and, as such, contain the decision of the court without the legal grounds or considerations, which are generally pronounced earlier. In particular, the conclusions stipulate whether the court has approved or denied the action or whether the court has decided to declare the action settled for other reasons. It stipulates further the cost burden and explains which modes of appeal the parties have at their disposal.

6.4-2 Who decides whether the judgement is published or not?

The court may order, at the request of the successful party, that the judgement be published at the expense of the opposing party. The court determines the form and extent of the publication. This right can be granted in whole or in part to the successful party, which may be either the claimant or the defendant.

6.4-3 Are the publication costs automatically granted to the successful party?

No, the payment of the publication costs must be specifically requested as the court will not do this ex officio.

The court determines the extent of the publication, paying particular attention to the principle of proportionality. The losing party may be required to pay the publication costs as part of the compensation owed to the opposing party. In any case, the claimant must anticipate this.

6.4-4 In which form and to which extent may a judgement be published?

The publication of the judgement can be requested in all media formats or with the publication of the work itself as additional information. The publication usually only contains the judgement and the conclusions in particular.

In view of the negative impact on the offender’s reputation when the decision is published, publication must be restricted to what is ordered in the judgement.