Blog

Looking through online advice on patents for startups, you may be confronted with a lot of contradictory articles and comments that make clear conclusions difficult, if not impossible. Amongst others, you will find comments to the effect that patents should not be a priority for startups because they are too expensive, and that they may instead be filed at a later stage - if at all - when it is clearer which product is likely to become a commercial success. Other comments may indicate that the grant of a patent is not guaranteed and that the associated financial risk is therefore too high.

On 26 June 2019, the Federal Council assigned the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) to conduct a consultation procedure on the amendment of the Federal Narcotics Act (NarcA), which will last until 17 October 2019. The planned amendment to the NarcA aims to facilitate and expand the handling of medicinal cannabis that is exempt from a special approval of the Federal Office of Public Health. In particular, the traffic ban on cannabis narcotics for medicinal purposes is to be lifted, which should lead to limited tradability.

Start-up founders often focus on the business and raising capital, whereby they often overlook the basic legal pitfalls when setting up their venture. This creates vulnerabilities for the founders, the investors, but also the business as such. These business threats may range from intellectual property-related issues, regulatory matters to contractual topics such as getting a founders agreement or the right terms and conditions. In this blog, we have a closer look at one of the core legal threats when becoming an entrepreneur, namely the relationship between the partners and how you can mitigate this risk.

We are pleased to announce that several attorneys have been ranked by Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2019.

On 29 August 2018, the Swiss Federal Council presented a proposal for a first partial amendment of Swiss inheritance law. The purpose of drafting the law is the adjustment of inheritance law to new societal forms of cohabitation and making corporate succession regulations easier. Of great practical relevance in the case of estate planning is that the previous mandatory portion claims of the descendants are reduced.

The Swiss Federal Council initiated a consultation on an amendment of the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (CISA), aiming to introduce a new, unregulated fund category called "Limited Qualified Investor Fund (L-QIF)", reserved exclusively for qualified investors. By introducing the L-QIF, Switzerland establishes a Swiss fund category similar to the Luxembourg Reserved Alternative Investment Fund (RAIF) or the Malta Notified Alternative Investment Fund (NAIF). The consultation of the Federal Council will last until 17 October 2019.