Overview of indications of source

Swiss chocolate and Bernese hazelnut gingerbread – indications of source show consumers the geographical origin of goods and products. This contrasts with trade marks, which associate a product or service with a particular company.

There are both direct and indirect indications of source:

Direct indications of source directly mention the name of the place that the product or service comes from, e.g. the name of a country, canton or region.
Examples: Seeland strawberries, Belper Knolle

Indirect indications of source are words or signs which create a relationship to a geographical place without explicitly naming the place of origin. For example, a picture of a famous building, such as Chillon Castle, a real or fictional famous person, such as William Tell, or a mountain, such as the Matterhorn.

If you use indications of source to market your goods or services, you must be able to prove that they actually come from the geographical area shown. For example, if companies want to advertise their products as being of Swiss origin, they need to fulfil the legally defined criteria for determining origin.

Geographical indications

There are also geographical indications (GIs). Geographical indications show that a given quality, a particular reputation or another characteristic of certain goods is due primarily to their geographical origin.

Examples of geographical indications are protected appellations of origin (PAOs) and protected geographical indications (PGIs): these are specially protected indications of source that are entered in a register. The products to which they refer must meet the requirements set out in a detailed product specification.
Examples of PAOs: Tête de Moine, Vacherin Mont-d’Or, Le Gruyère
Examples of PGIs: St. Galler Kalbsbratwurst, Saucisson vaudois

The Register for Geographical Indications for Agricultural Products is maintained by the Federal Office for Agriculture, and the Register for Non-Agricultural Products is maintained by the IPI.