The Instagram route from Switzerland
Swiss trade mark protection comes from registration with the IPI, so a registered Swiss mark is the clearest evidence for Instagram’s intellectual property form. Article 29 of the Swiss Civil Code protects a person’s name against unauthorised use, and the Unfair Competition Act covers misleading use of a name in business. Both are background for the platform to read, not a way to force a handle.
The four official routes are set out in the routes guide and compared on the routes comparison.
Then TikTok and Snapchat
Switzerland is not in the EU, so the Digital Services Act’s platform duties do not apply to Swiss residents as such. The platforms’ own forms are the only route, and they are the same forms everyone else uses. TikTok and Snapchat claims rest on their trademark and infringement forms.
Handle limits for both are on the TikTok rules and Snapchat rules pages.
Proof to gather before you write
For a request from Switzerland the useful evidence is a Swiss mark on the IPI register, a name right under article 29 of the Civil Code, or proof that a profile is posing as you. The preparation checklist lists the rest: the exact handle, the profile it is for, and what ties the name to you.
Never send a password or a login code. Nobody who needs one is working through an official route. See claim scams.
Four steps from first message to filing
- You send the handle you want and the profile it is for, on WhatsApp or email, and say you are in Switzerland.
- We look at whether an official route fits the facts and tell you if it looks workable.
- The price is agreed in chat before any work starts.
- The request is filed with each platform’s process. The platform makes the final decision, and a claim that fails is covered by the refund policy.
Offices and laws named on this page
- Trade marks: the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI).
- Personal data: the revised Federal Act on Data Protection, with the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner as the regulator.
- Consumer and advertising matters: the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
- Languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh.
- Currency for the price: Swiss franc (CHF). The price is agreed in your chat or email before work starts.
These are reference points, not legal advice. A platform’s decision on a handle follows its own policy.