The short answer
An eye-catching product shape is not automatically a trademark. Design protection concerns external appearance; a three-dimensional trademark must indicate commercial origin for particular goods or services. Both forms of protection can be considered, but each has its own requirements. Registering a product name does not, by itself, protect the product's entire shape.
Design protection is a natural starting point for appearance
Two-dimensional designs and three-dimensional shapes may qualify, such as a pattern, a lamp or packaging. In Switzerland, novelty and individual character are among the requirements. Features determined solely by technical function cannot be secured through design protection alone.
When preparing, describe what actually defines the design: its outline, surface pattern, proportions or a combination. Clear images help make the decision concrete. A product photo dominated by a large logo does not yet answer the question about the shape.
Sources: IPI: What is a design? · IPI: Requirements for design protection
A shape trademark must do more than look attractive
Three-dimensional trademarks are possible in principle. However, the IPI explains that product shapes are registered as trademarks only exceptionally. The sign must be understood as a distinctive identifier. An attractive or practical shape does not necessarily fulfil that function.
Ask what customers are meant to recognise your business by. Is it the name on the bottle, a figurative sign or the unmistakable shape itself? For a new product line, assessing the name and design in parallel may make sense, without treating the two forms of protection as equivalent.
Sources: IPI: Three-dimensional and other types of trademark
Plan the timing of the public product launch
Publication can matter for a design's novelty. Under certain conditions, Swiss law provides a twelve-month novelty grace period following your own disclosure. This is no reason to assume the same timetable applies in other countries or to postpone keeping records.
Record when each version first appeared on a website, at a trade fair or in a public post. If foreign markets are planned, clarify your protection strategy before publication where possible. This helps prevent the design's protection from accidentally falling behind the marketing schedule.
What you can do now
- Record the product name, logo and external appearance as separate subjects of protection.
- Collect informative views of the shape and its defining features.
- Coordinate publication dates and planned countries before launching the product.
Frequently asked questions
Does a word mark also protect my bottle shape?
A word mark concerns the word sign applied for. Whether the external appearance can also be protected must be assessed separately as a design or, where appropriate, as a three-dimensional sign.
Sources: IPI: Three-dimensional and other types of trademark · IPI: What is a design?
Is it always too late for design protection after an Instagram post?
Not necessarily. A novelty grace period can apply in Switzerland under certain conditions. The timing, who made the disclosure and planned foreign markets should nevertheless be assessed promptly and specifically.