Switzerland

Data theft / data corruption can be covered by several criminal offences: Article 143 SCC pre-scribes the penalization of an unauthorized data acquisition. The maximum penalty is a cus-todial sentence of five years. Furthermore, any person betraying a manufacturing or trade secret not to be revealed under a statutory or contractual duty or anyone exploiting such a betrayal can face a custodial sentence up to three years or a monetary penalty under Article 162 SCC. Finally, according to Articles 67 et seqq. of the Swiss Copyright Act, a copyright in-fringement that has been committed willfully and unlawfully can be punished with a custo-dial sentence up to one year or a monetary penalty, in cases of committing the offense for commercial gain the penalty is a custodial sentence not exceeding five years or a monetary penalty.