A company is urgently waiting for mail from the IPI regarding a trademark application. The decision has been made, the letter is ready. Now it has to reach the right recipient quickly and securely, and there must be a traceable record of when it was delivered. What at first glance seems like a simple matter is in fact a sensitive process – and a part of everyday life at the IPI. The Institute is the Confederation’s central point of contact when it comes to intellectual property matters. In the Brands & Designs department alone, the IPI examines around 40,000 applications annually and assesses around 600 trademark conflicts. This includes national and international trademark applications as well as appeals and cancellation requests.
High confidentiality and delivery security requirements
The IPI protects and manages assets that are of particular economic and strategic importance to companies. The requirements for sending procedural letters are correspondingly high. They must be treated confidentially, delivered properly and on time and documented correctly. It must also be ensured that sensitive information is protected against unauthorized access at all times.
Digital delivery with postal secrecy
In the past, the IPI sent procedural letters exclusively by traditional letter mail – under the protection of postal secrecy. With ongoing digitization and the gradual expansion of digital services relating to property rights, the institute also wanted to offer applicants a digital delivery channel to make procedures simpler and faster.
When implementing this channel, the IPI is bound by the Ordinance on Electronic Communication in Administrative Proceedings (VEVV). This ordinance defines the specific conditions under which public authorities may transfer documents digitally and sets out directives on protection and verifiability, among other things. These requirements exclude traditional e-mail services.
Seamless integration into existing processes
The IPI also wanted to ensure that the communication channel was intuitive to use for both customers and employees and could be integrated easily into existing processes – including the document and process software Domtrac. After all, a letter is not created independently of the rest of the process. It must be capable of being sent, documented and subsequently filed correctly within the overall process. Therefore, the aim wasn’t just to offer an additional digital channel, but to create a way of simplifying everyday administrative work for everyone.
Electronic document delivery in trademark proceedings
The IPI identified IncaMail, Swiss Post’s certified e-mail encryption service, as the right solution. The Institute now uses the electronic service in all trademark proceedings, including registration procedures for national and international trademarks as well as appeal and cancellation procedures. This means that if a party to the procedure opts for electronic delivery and has submitted a request to this effect, it will receive all letters – including rulings – digitally.
Legally secure delivery and complete traceability
All content is transmitted securely, and recipients can securely access their letters digitally. What’s more, dispatch is documented in a legally secure manner and is fully traceable. This is particularly important in procedures with deadlines, because it must be clear to all parties when a letter was delivered.
Electronic mailing also has advantages over traditional postal channels:
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Faster delivery: Auditors can deliver letters to recipients directly after a decision has been made. This saves time and shortens response cycles.
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More flexibility: Recipients can access letters anytime and anywhere. This gives them certainty about applications and the start or end of deadlines more quickly.
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Simple archiving: The IPI delivers letters as searchable PDF files, in a format that is suitable for long-term archiving. This eliminates an additional step to prepare the data for filing.
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Less effort: Procedures are handled more quickly and more directly with applicants. At the same time, electronic delivery relieves the strain on internal processes, because mailing, proof and filing are closely interlinked.
Digitization without compromise
For the IPI, the electronic delivery of letters in trademark proceedings is an important step that fits seamlessly into the shift towards digital administration. It combines key requirements for digital administrative processes: uncompromising content protection, full legal compliance, high practicality and ease of use.
