100+ Free Swiss Patent Attorney Practice Questions

Prepare for the Swiss Patent Attorney Qualifying Examination (Schweizerische Patentanwaltsprüfung / Examen suisse de conseil en brevets) exam with instant access — no signup required.

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: Swiss Patent Attorney Exam

CHF 2,500

Exam Fee (Parts 3 & 4)

PAPV Fee Schedule

4.0 / 6.0

Minimum Passing Grade

PAPV Grading Rules

3 Years

Supervised Practice Prerequisite

PAG Art. 2

Art. 10 PAG

Professional Secrecy Privilege

Patentanwaltsgesetz

PatGerG

Federal Patent Court Act

SR 173.32

Art. 9a PatG

Unilateral EEA Exhaustion

Patentgesetz

This is an English-language MCQ study adaptation for the Swiss Patent Attorney Examination (Schweizerische Patentanwaltsprüfung / Examen suisse de conseil en brevets) administered by the Prüfungskammer under IGE supervision pursuant to the Patent Attorney Act (PAG) and Ordinance (PAPV). The official exam is a 4-part performance-based assessment (fee: CHF 2,500 for Swiss parts 3 & 4) requiring a passing grade of 4.0/6.0. This 100-question prep module reinforces mastery of Swiss patent law (PatG), IGE prosecution (PatV), Federal Patent Court litigation (PatGerG), collateral IP (MSchG, DesG, UWG, URG), and professional secrecy / ethics (PAG Art. 10).

Sample Swiss Patent Attorney Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your Swiss Patent Attorney exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1According to Article 1 of the Swiss Federal Act on Patents for Inventions (PatG, SR 232.14), which of the following is an absolute statutory prerequisite for an invention to be patentable in Switzerland?

A.The invention must be of a technical nature, novel, industrially applicable, and involve an inventive step

B.The invention must demonstrate commercial profitability in the Swiss market within two years of filing

C.The invention must be an aesthetic creation with unique individual graphic character

D.The invention must be an abstract mathematical algorithm or economic business scheme

Explanation: Under Art. 1(1) and (2) PatG, patents are granted for new inventions that are industrially applicable and involve an inventive step. It is well established in Swiss statutory doctrine and Federal Supreme Court jurisprudence that an invention must have a technical character (technischer Charakter). Purely aesthetic creations, abstract mathematical methods, and economic business schemes as such are not technical inventions.

2How is the state of the art (prior art) defined under Article 7(1) of the Swiss Patent Act (PatG)?

A.Everything made available to the public anywhere in the world by written description, oral description, use, or any other way before the filing or priority date

B.Only printed documents published in the official Swiss languages (German, French, Italian) within the territory of Switzerland

C.Any public disclosure occurring within Switzerland within the 12 months immediately preceding the filing date

D.Registered patents and published patent applications in Switzerland and the European Patent Office only

Explanation: Pursuant to Art. 7(1) PatG, an invention is considered new if it does not form part of the state of the art. The state of the art comprises everything made available to the public anywhere in the world by means of a written or oral description, by use, or in any other way before the filing date or priority date. Switzerland adheres to the absolute/universal novelty standard.

3Under Article 2(2) of the Swiss Patent Act (PatG), which of the following subject matters is explicitly EXCLUDED from patent protection?

A.Methods for surgical, therapeutic, or diagnostic treatment applied to the human or animal body

B.Chemical substances and pharmaceutical compositions for use in medical treatment

C.Surgical instruments and diagnostic medical hardware devices

D.Microbiological processes and products obtained by such processes

Explanation: Art. 2(2) PatG explicitly excludes methods for surgical, therapeutic, or diagnostic treatment practiced on the human or animal body from patentability. However, this exclusion does not apply to products, particularly substances or compositions (medicaments) or medical devices/apparatus, used in any of these methods.

4Under Article 332(1) of the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR, SR 220), what is the legal rule regarding service inventions (Diensterfindungen) created by an employee?

A.They belong ipso jure to the employer without any requirement for separate financial compensation beyond regular contractual salary

B.They belong exclusively to the employee, who must grant the employer a mandatory non-exclusive license

C.They are co-owned in equal shares by the employer and employee under Swiss joint property rules

D.They belong to the employer only if the employer pays separate special statutory remuneration within 30 days

Explanation: Under Art. 332(1) OR, inventions made by an employee in the course of work for an employer and in the performance of contractual duties (service inventions / Diensterfindungen) belong automatically to the employer by law (ipso jure). The employee is not entitled to separate special remuneration because creating inventions forms part of the duties compensated by regular salary.

5Which exclusive rights are conferred upon the owner of a Swiss patent under Article 8(1) of the Swiss Patent Act (PatG)?

A.The right to prohibit others from commercially manufacturing, using, selling, offering for sale, importing, exporting, or stocking the patented product

B.The absolute right to prevent any private, non-commercial use of the invention by individual consumers

C.An unconditional government guarantee that the patented product may be marketed without regulatory permits

D.An automatic global exclusive monopoly valid across all WTO member states

Explanation: Under Art. 8(1) PatG, a patent confers on its proprietor the exclusive right to commercially manufacture, use, sell, offer for sale, import, export, transit, or possess/stock for these purposes the patented product or the direct product of a patented process. A patent is an exclusionary negative right (ius prohibendi), not a positive authorization to market without health/safety permits.

6What is the statutory maximum duration of a standard Swiss national patent under Article 14 of the Swiss Patent Act (PatG)?

A.20 years from the date of filing the patent application

B.10 years from the date of grant, renewable once for an additional 5 years

C.25 years from the priority date claimed in the application

D.50 years from the death of the primary named inventor

Explanation: Art. 14 PatG provides that the term of a Swiss patent is 20 years calculated from the date of filing of the application. The term cannot be renewed, subject only to Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) for medicinal and plant protection products (Art. 140a ff. PatG).

7What is the scope of the experimental research exemption (Forschungsprivileg) under Article 9(1)(b) of the Swiss Patent Act (PatG)?

A.The effect of the patent does not extend to acts done for experimental purposes relating to the subject matter of the patented invention

B.Any commercial competitor may freely manufacture and sell patented products if 5% of revenues are allocated to academic research

C.The research exemption applies only to non-profit universities and strictly excludes corporate research departments

D.The exemption allows using a patented diagnostic instrument in commercial testing laboratories without a license

Explanation: Pursuant to Art. 9(1)(b) PatG, the exclusive rights conferred by a patent do not extend to acts done for experimental purposes to gain knowledge about the subject matter of the patented invention, including its possible applications. This research privilege applies to both academic institutions and commercial corporate entities, provided the research is *on* the invention (to study it) rather than *with* the invention as a commercial research tool.

8Under Article 7b of the Swiss Patent Act (PatG), what is the statutory grace period for non-prejudicial disclosures prior to filing?

A.6 months prior to the filing date, if the disclosure was due to an evident abuse in relation to the applicant or display at an official international exhibition

B.12 months prior to the filing date for any voluntary publication made by the inventor on the internet

C.3 months prior to filing, provided the applicant pays a non-prejudicial disclosure fee to the IGE

D.There is no grace period under Swiss law under any circumstance whatsoever

Explanation: Art. 7b PatG provides a strict 6-month grace period before the filing date (or priority date) where a disclosure of the invention will not be taken into consideration as state of the art if it was due to or in consequence of: (a) an evident abuse in relation to the applicant or their legal predecessor, or (b) the display of the invention at an official or officially recognized international exhibition pursuant to the 1928 Paris Convention.

9Under Article 7a of the Swiss Patent Act (PatG), how is an earlier Swiss patent application published on or after the filing date of a later application treated?

A.It forms part of the state of the art solely for the assessment of novelty, but is disregarded when evaluating inventive step

B.It forms part of the prior art for both novelty and inventive step under the whole contents approach

C.It is completely disregarded as prior art unless both applications belong to the identical applicant

D.It automatically causes the immediate cancellation of the later application without formal examination

Explanation: Under Art. 7a PatG (Swiss prior rights), an earlier Swiss patent application or international application designating Switzerland with an earlier filing or priority date that is published on or after the filing date of the application under examination is considered state of the art solely for assessing novelty. Pursuant to Art. 1(2) PatG, such earlier unpublished applications are not taken into account when evaluating inventive step.

10Under Article 1a of the Swiss Patent Act (PatG), what are the legal requirements for patenting an element isolated from the human body or a gene sequence?

A.The element or gene sequence is patentable only if it is isolated by a technical process and its industrial application/function is concretely described in the application

B.The human body and any of its naturally occurring elements are unconditionally unpatentable even if synthesized or isolated

C.Gene sequences are freely patentable upon mere discovery without disclosing any biological function or industrial utility

D.Human gene sequences can only be patented by Swiss federal public research institutions

Explanation: Under Art. 1a PatG, the human body at the various stages of its formation and development, including germ cells, and the simple discovery of one of its elements (such as a gene sequence) are not patentable. However, an element isolated from the human body or otherwise produced by means of a technical process is patentable, provided that its industrial application and biological function are concretely described in the patent application.

About the Swiss Patent Attorney Exam

This preparation resource is an English-language MCQ study adaptation for the Swiss Patent Attorney Examination (Schweizerische Patentanwaltsprüfung / Examen suisse de conseil en brevets) administered by the Prüfungskammer under the supervision of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE / IPI) pursuant to the Patent Attorney Act (PAG, SR 232.21) and the Ordinance on the Patent Attorney Examination (PAPV, SR 232.211). It provides candidates with a rigorous testing tool covering Swiss substantive patent law (PatG, SR 232.14), patent grant procedures before the IGE (PatV, SR 232.141), patent litigation before the Federal Patent Court (PatGerG, SR 173.32), trademark law (MSchG, SR 232.11), design law (DesG, SR 232.12), unfair competition (UWG, SR 241), copyright (URG, SR 231.1), international conventions (EPC, PCT, Paris Convention), and professional attorney conduct (PAG).

Assessment

Four parts under Art. 8 PAV. Parts 1 and 2 are taken within the European qualifying examination and count as passed if papers A and B are passed individually or the EQE is passed as a whole. Part 3 is a six-hour written paper covering Swiss patent law including the international procedures, and the Swiss administrative, criminal and civil procedure and court organisation applicable in patent matters. Part 4 is a one-hour oral examination covering trade mark, design, copyright, competition and civil law so far as needed for practice in Switzerland.

Time Limit

Part 3: six hours written; Part 4: one hour oral (up to 75 minutes in justified cases)

Passing Score

Pass/fail; all four examination parts must be passed (Art. 20 Abs. 3 PAV). Failing a part twice excludes the candidate from all further examinations.

Exam Fee

CHF 900 for parts 3 and 4 taken together, or CHF 600 per part taken separately; the IPI charges a separate CHF 200 fee for entry in the patent attorney register (Examination Board (Prüfungskammer / Commission d'examen) under IGE / IPI supervision)

Swiss Patent Attorney Exam Content Outline

25%

Swiss Substantive Patent Law

PatG SR 232.14: Inventions, patentability, novelty (Art. 7, 7a), inventive step (Art. 1(2)), exclusions (Art. 1a–2), patentee rights (Art. 8), exceptions and research/Bolar exemptions (Art. 9), unilateral EEA exhaustion (Art. 9a), compulsory licenses (Art. 36–40e), and employee inventions under Art. 332 OR.

25%

Patent Grant & IGE Prosecution

PatV SR 232.141: IGE filing requirements, representation (Art. 13 PatG), priority claims, two-tier examination system (Art. 59 PatG), claim drafting, amendments (Art. 58 PatG), divisional applications (Art. 57 PatG), limited opposition (Art. 59c PatG), Weiterbehandlung (Art. 46a PatG), and Wiedereinsetzung (Art. 47 PatG).

20%

Patent Litigation & Enforcement

Federal Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht / PatGerG SR 173.32), dual representation (Art. 29 PatGerG), infringement claims (Art. 72 PatG), nullity actions (Art. 26 PatG), interim measures / vorsorgliche Massnahmen (Art. 77 PatG, Art. 261 ZPO), protective letters (Art. 270 ZPO), criminal penalties (Art. 66 PatG), and Federal Supreme Court (BGer) appeals.

15%

Swiss Trademark, Design, Copyright & Competition Law

MSchG SR 232.11 (absolute/relative grounds, opposition, non-use defense), DesG SR 232.12 (designs), URG SR 231.1 (copyright), and UWG SR 241 (unfair competition, misleading statements, slavish imitation, trade secret protection).

15%

International Treaties & Professional Rules of Conduct

EPC/EPÜ, London Agreement validation, prohibition of double patenting (Art. 125 PatG), PCT national phase entry (Art. 131 PatG), Paris Convention priority, Patent Law Treaty, and Patentanwaltsgesetz PAG SR 232.21 (professional secrecy Art. 10 PAG, independence, conflicts of interest, IGE Register).

How to Pass the Swiss Patent Attorney Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: Pass/fail; all four examination parts must be passed (Art. 20 Abs. 3 PAV). Failing a part twice excludes the candidate from all further examinations.
Assessment: Four parts under Art. 8 PAV. Parts 1 and 2 are taken within the European qualifying examination and count as passed if papers A and B are passed individually or the EQE is passed as a whole. Part 3 is a six-hour written paper covering Swiss patent law including the international procedures, and the Swiss administrative, criminal and civil procedure and court organisation applicable in patent matters. Part 4 is a one-hour oral examination covering trade mark, design, copyright, competition and civil law so far as needed for practice in Switzerland.
Time limit: Part 3: six hours written; Part 4: one hour oral (up to 75 minutes in justified cases)
Exam fee: CHF 900 for parts 3 and 4 taken together, or CHF 600 per part taken separately; the IPI charges a separate CHF 200 fee for entry in the patent attorney register

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Swiss Patent Attorney Study Tips from Top Performers

1Distinguish between 'Weiterbehandlung' (Art. 46a PatG, which applies to missed IGE time limits upon simple request and fee payment) and 'Wiedereinsetzung in den früheren Stand' (Art. 47 PatG, which requires proof of absence of fault / due care).

2Memorize the three categories of employee inventions under Art. 332 OR: service inventions (belong to employer automatically), incidental inventions (employer can acquire within 6 months with compensation), and free inventions (belong to employee).

3Understand Switzerland's asymmetric regional exhaustion principle (Art. 9a PatG): unilateral EEA regional exhaustion for standard goods, but strict national exhaustion for price-regulated goods such as patented pharmaceuticals.

4Remember that administrative opposition before the IGE (Art. 59c PatG) is strictly limited to exclusions under Art. 1a, 1b, and 2 PatG within 9 months of grant; novelty and inventive step can ONLY be challenged via a nullity action before the Federal Patent Court.

5Review the requirements for preliminary injunctions (Art. 77 PatG, Art. 261 ZPO): prima facie evidence of infringement/threat, irreparable harm, and urgency, as well as protective letters (Art. 270 ZPO).

6Master the dual representation rules before the Federal Patent Court under Art. 29 PatGerG, allowing registered patent attorneys with technical training to represent parties in patent litigation alongside bar-admitted attorneys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Swiss Patent Attorney Examination (Schweizerische Patentanwaltsprüfung)?

It is the official professional qualifying examination governed by the Federal Act on Patent Attorneys (Patentanwaltsgesetz PAG, SR 232.21) and the Examination Ordinance (PAPV, SR 232.211). Passing this examination entitles qualified candidates to be registered in the official Patent Attorney Register maintained by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE / IPI) and use the legally protected title 'Patentanwältin' or 'Patentanwalt'.

What is the structure of the Swiss Patent Attorney Examination?

The examination comprises four parts: Part 1 (Basic legal knowledge, often fulfilled via EQE Pre-exam or Paper D), Part 2 (Drafting and responding to office actions, corresponding to EQE Papers A & B), Part 3 (Substantive and procedural Swiss patent, trademark, design, copyright, and competition law), and Part 4 (Swiss civil procedure, litigation before the Federal Patent Court, and professional ethics under the PAG).

What are the admission requirements for the Swiss Patent Attorney Examination?

Pursuant to Art. 2 PAG, candidates must hold a university Master's degree (or equivalent diploma) in science or engineering from a Swiss university, ETH Zurich, EPFL, or a recognized foreign university, and have completed at least 3 years of full-time professional training in Switzerland under the supervision of a registered patent attorney (or 6 years of independent professional practice).

How are Swiss patents examined by the IGE compared to the EPO?

Under the current Swiss Patent Act (Art. 59 PatG), the IGE performs formal and partial substantive examination (checking for statutory exclusions, industrial applicability, unity of invention, clarity, and sufficiency of disclosure), but does NOT automatically examine for novelty or inventive step. A Swiss patent is granted unexamined for novelty/inventive step unless the applicant requests a prior art search.

What is the jurisdiction of the Swiss Federal Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht)?

Pursuant to the Federal Patent Court Act (PatGerG, SR 173.32), the Federal Patent Court in St. Gallen has exclusive first-instance jurisdiction across Switzerland for civil patent validity (nullity) and patent infringement actions, as well as requests for preliminary injunctions (vorsorgliche Massnahmen). Its decisions can be appealed directly to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht) in Lausanne.

What is the scope of professional secrecy under Art. 10 PAG?

Under Art. 10 PAG, Swiss patent attorneys are bound by professional secrecy without time limit regarding all confidential information entrusted to them by clients or acquired in their professional practice. This secrecy is protected by criminal law (Art. 321 Swiss Criminal Code) and gives patent attorneys the absolute right to refuse testimony and the production of documents in civil (Art. 166 ZPO) and criminal proceedings.