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 Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser, LL.M.
Partner

Dr Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser, LL.M.

Co-Head of the practice groups TMC and IP

Languages
  • German
  • English
  • French
  • Italian
Social media

Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser advises and represents national and international clients in connection with contentious and non-contentious issues relating to trademarks, designs, copyrights, patents, unfair competition and advertisement.

She has particular expertise in the protection and enforcement of trademark portfolios and in the drafting and enforcement of contracts for the transfer and use of intellectual property rights, including research and development, license and sponsorship agreements. She regularly deals with IP-related aspects of due diligence in corporate transactions. Another focus of her work is on anti-counterfeiting, including related customs actions.

Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser advises clients across a broad range of industry sectors, including listed as well as small and mid-cap companies. Her clients include companies in the information technology, financial, pharmaceutical and mechanical engineering sector, as well as banks and manufacturers of fine fragrances, fashion, sports equipment and food.

Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser was admitted to the bar in 1996 and has since been working in various patent attorney and law firms in Basel and Zurich. She regularly publishes on intellectual property and unfair competition law and has been a lecturer in intellectual property law at the University of Basel's MBA Marketing and Business Development program since 2003.

Awards & Recognitions
01
  • Quote
    Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser provides clear advice and is practical and helpful. She is great to work with.
    Chambers & Partners, Europe, Intellectual Property , Switzerland, 2025
  • Quote
    Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser is an excellent partner and a joy to work with.
    Chambers & Partners, Europe, Intellectual Property , Switzerland, 2025
  • Quote
    Simone is very client-focused and it doesn't matter if you are a big or small one.
    Chambers & Partners, Europe, Intellectual Property, Switzerland, 2024
  • Quote
    Simone Brauchbar has strong expertise in IP and trade mark law and has an excellent reputation in the industry.
    The Legal 500, Switzerland, Intellectual Property, 2024
  • Quote
    Simone is an excellent partner to work with and has good insights.
    Chambers & Partners, Europe, Intellectual Property, Switzerland, 2024
  • Quote
    A strategic thinker, Simone handles difficult issues quickly and capably, and consistently achieves what she sets out to accomplish. She fights hard to get the best protection for her clients.
    WTR 1000, Switzerland, Trademark practice, 2023

Relevant experience

  • Advising and representing a Swiss watch company in a contentious trademark license matter.
  • Advising a US fashion producer in connection with anti-counterfeiting.
  • Advising and representing a client in the field of mechanical engineering in contentious trade secrete matter.
  • Ongoing advice to a Swiss sports team in connection with its sponsorship agreement. 
  • Advising various international consumer product manufacturers in all aspects of Swiss IP and advertisement legislation, including unfair competition.
  • Advising a Swiss fine fragrance producer on the protection and enforcement of their trademarks, ongoing.
  • Advising a Swiss producer of e-trucks in various commercial and IP matters.
  • Advising a leading platform for sustainable cotton in various commercial and compliance matters. 

Publications

  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone / Olivia Zingg, Legal 500: Trademark Disputes Comparative Guide – Swiss Chapter, April 2025
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone, Reto Hunsperger and Aline Steffen-Züger, Thomson Reuters Practical Law: Contracting with Consumers: Overview (Switzerland), December 2024
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone / Olivia Zingg, Lexology In-Depth: Trade Secrets Switzerland, October 2024
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone / Olivia Zingg, The Trademark Prosecution Review 2025: How to protect green trademarks under Swiss law amid registration and enforcement challenges.
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone/Olivia Zingg, Upcoming new Law on the Protection of Youth in Films and Video Games in Switzerland, in CMS Law-Now of 4 June 2024, online Publication
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone / Olivia Zingg, Thomson Reuters Practical Law: Consumer Sales Promotions Overview, December 2023
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone, Off- und Online-Glücksspiele in der Schweiz, CMS Blog (cmshs.bloggt.de), 13 September 2023
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser, Simone, Einleitung/Verhältnis des Lauterkeitsrechts zum Immaterialgüterrecht; Kommentierung von Art. 3 Abs. 1 lit. d UWG (Co-Autorschaft mit Philippe Spitz); Kommentierung von Artikel 5 UWG; in: Peter Jung (Hrsg.), Bundesgesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (UWG), 3. Auflage, Stämpflis Handkommentar SHK, Bern 2023
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone / Olivia Zingg, Die Eventmarke — eine Marke wie jede andere?, sui generis 2023, S. 119 ff.
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone / Steffen-Züger Aline, "Rechtlich beginnt Greenwashing da, wo eine Angabe als unlauter zu qualifizieren ist", 5 May 2023 in Persönlich Sonderausgabe Nachhaltigkeit
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone / Brettschneider Sophie, Umfassender Markenschutz für Lindt-Goldhasen - Gerechtfertigter Eingriff in die Gestaltungsfreiheit?, discussion of BGer, 4A_587/2021 of 30 August 2022 in AJP/PJA 2/2023, p. 238 ff.
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone, Einheit der Rechtsordnung: Lauterkeitsrechtlicher Unterlassungsanspruch trotz  markenrechtlicher Koexistenz?, Comments on the decision 4A_152/2020 of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court of 26 October 2020 (OTTO'S/OTTO), in sic! Stiftung, Bern / Helbing Lichtenhahn Verlag, Basel, June 2021
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone/Christen Marquard, Switzerland opens consultation on prohibiting online booking platforms from including price parity clauses in contracts with hotels, in CMS Law-Now of 25 November 2020, Online-Publication
  • Brauchbar Birkkhäuser Simone, Swiss courts confirm high threshold to evidence notoriety of trademarks in recent decisions regarding culinary brands, in CMS Law-Now of 5 November 2020, Online-Publication
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone/Aline Steffen, Sustainability Claims: Rechtliche Leitlinien für die Werbung mit Nachhaltigkeit, in KMU Magazin, Nr. 9, September 2020, p. 68 ff.
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone/Aline Steffen, Use of product pictures in advertisement under revised Swiss copyright law, in CMS Law-Now of 20 May 2020, online Publication
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone/Dirk Spacek, The Legal 500 & The In-House Lawyer Comparative Legal Guide Switzerland: Intellectual Property (3rd edition), July 2019
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone/Christen Marquard, International distribution and license agreements affected by recent Swiss competition law decisions, in CMS Law-Now of 4 March 2019, online-Publication
  • Change in law: Sales promotion sweepstakes under the new Money Games Act, in CMS Law-Now of 14 February 2019, online-publication
  • Brauchbar Birkhäuser Simone/Kesselring Felix, More Cocoa Powder for the Swiss? The Swiss view on the "Nutella gap", in: CMS Law-Now, December 2017, online Publication
  • Design Law: When it comes to watches details matter (4A_565/2016), CMS Law-Now (2017), online Publication
  • Revision of Novel Foods Regime in Switzerland, CMS Law-Now (2017), online Publication
  • Kommentar zu Artikel 2 und Artikel 3 Markenschutzgesetz, in: Lucas David/Markus Frick (Hrsg.), Markenschutzgesetz Wappenschutzgesetz, Basler Kommentar, 3. Auflage, Basel 2016, Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser (Co-Autorschaft mit Matthias Städeli)
  • Einleitung/Verhältnis des Lauterkeitsrechts zum Immaterialgüterrecht; Kommentierung von Art. 3 lit. d UWG (Co-Autorschaft mit Philippe Spitz); Kommentierung von Artikel 5 UWG; in: Peter Jung/Philippe Spitz (Hrsg.), Bundesgesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (UWG), 2. edition, Stämplis Handkommentar, Bern 2016, Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser
  • Geistiges Eigentum – Aschenputtel unter den Vermögenswerten, in: KMU-Magazin, Nr. 1/2, Januar/Februar 2016, p. 38 ff., Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser / Louis Lagler
  • Geistiges Eigentum – Die Rechtslage im Arbeitsverhältnis, in: KMU- Magazin, Nr. 10, Oktober 2016, p. 54 ff., Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser / Louis Lagler
  • Die Verwirkung im Kennzeichenrecht; unter Berücksichtigung der Regelung der Europäischen Union, Diss., Basel 2001, Basler Studien zur Rechtswissenschaft, Reihe A, Privatrecht, Bd. 57, Basel 2001, Simone Brauchbar

Memberships & Roles

  • ZAV (Zürcher Anwaltsverband)
  • SAV (Schweizerischer Anwaltsverband)
  • INGRES (Institut für gewerblichen Rechtsschutz)
  • LES (Licensing Executive Society, Switzerland)
  • ASAS (Association Suisse de droit de la concurrence)
  • Women in IP
  • Marques

Awards & Rankings

  • Best Lawyers | Intellectual Property Law, Switzerland, 2026
  • Lexology Index | IP - Trademarks, Switzerland, 2025 | Thought Leader
  • IP STARS | Trademark Star, Switzerland, 2025 
  • Chambers and Partners | Intellectual Property, Switzerland, 2024 | Band 4 
  • WTR 1000 | Enforcement and litigation, Switzerland, 2025 | Silver
  • WTR 1000 | Prosecution, Switzerland, 2025 | Bronze
  • Leaders League | Trademark Prosecution, Switzerland, 2024 | Highly Recommended

Lectures list

  • "Nachhaltigkeit trifft Markenrecht"; Université de Neuchâtel, Innocube Training, 24 October 2024
  • Werbung auf Social Media, CMS Law On Air Podcast, Episode #1, 30 November 2021
  • "No Greenwashing" (together with Dr Heike Blank, CMS Cologne), CMS Consumer Products Conference 2019, Basel, 7 November, 2019
  • Bekämpfung der Produktepiraterie: Zollrechtliche Massnahmen sinnvoll eingesetzt - Schulthess Forum Intellectual Property 2019, Zurich, 12 June 2019
  • Datenschutzrecht und M&A (together with Dr Dirk Spacek and Dr Tobias Grau), CMS M&A Breakfast 2019, Zurich, 4 April 2019
  • Product Piracy – View from Switzerland, CMS Webinar, 6. Februar 2018
  • Blockchain – Token – Kryptowährungen, Lawyer's Lunch, 24 October 2017 more
  • Institute for industrial property rights (INGRES), Ittinger workshop on trademark rights – Strength and risks of trademarks (2017)
  • Since 2003 lecturer for Intellectual Property Law at the “Master of Advanced Studies in Marketing and Management” of the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Basel

Education

  • 2002/2003: University of Cambridge (UK) – Master of Laws
  • 2000 – Doktorat, Dr. iur., summa cum laude, Universität Basel, Prof. Walther Hug Preis
  • 1988 – 1993: Universität Basel – Lizentiat, magna cum laude