Summary of the decision of the Commercial Court of the Canton of Bern dated 16 June 2026

In an interim decision dated 2 July 2024, the court had already ruled in the proceedings brought by 25 manufacturers and retailers of ‘handpans’ (and therefore the ‘Claimants’) against Sabina Schärer, Felix Rohner and PANArt AG (hereinafter the ‘Defendants’), the court had already established that the HANG is protected by copyright in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. It still had to decide whether to uphold its assessment and, if so, whether the over 250 ‘handpans’ introduced into the proceedings by the manufacturers and retailers infringed the copyright of Sabina Schärer, Felix Rohner and PANArt AG. The Federal Supreme Court dismissed an appeal lodged against this by the manufacturers and retailers of the ‘handpans’ on the grounds of procedural errors.

The court summarises the second decision, now available and dated 16 June 2026, in paragraph E. 208 as follows: ‘In summary, it can be held that i) the “Hang” of Defendants 2 and 3 is eligible for copyright protection in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands on the basis of the considerations set out, and ii) the specific “handpans” submitted by the plaintiffs in the present proceedings, with a few exceptions, infringe the copyright of the defendants.’

The court has therefore concluded, even after a further review taking into account the most recent case law of the European Court of Justice and the German Federal Court of Justice, that the HANG is protected by copyright. Furthermore, of the over 250 ‘handpans’ submitted by the claimants, the court found that around 80 per cent infringed the scope of protection of the HANG, because ‘when viewed in their overall context, they contain the characteristic features relevant to the protection of the “Hang”’. Of the few ‘handpans’ deemed not to infringe, the court described some as borderline cases.

In paragraph E. 222, the court quantifies the extent of the victory for Sabina Schärer, Felix Rohner and PANArt AG in financial terms as 95 per cent and, accordingly, ordered the claimants to pay court costs of CHF 77,150 and legal costs of CHF 98,604.

The full text of the judgement, available HERE, may be appealed by either party to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court by the end of August.

Ruling of the Bern Commercial Court:

DE_2026 06 16 PAN Art Ayasa et al HG Bern Entscheid (PDF 23.472 MB)