Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policies

‘Swift’ means Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication SC.

‘Swift Standards’ means any message-based standard or component thereof, developed by or for Swift, including the related business model, messages, message flows and documentation, whether in draft or final form.

‘IP Rights’ means all copyright, proprietary know-how, patent rights (including patent applications) or other intellectual or industrial property rights.

Swift hereby grants you a world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use or promote Swift Standards (i) for information transmission purposes in or outside the context of Swift messaging services and/or (ii) to develop software, products or services which support transmission of information in accordance with Swift Standards.

You may not directly or indirectly sell Swift Standards. You may not modify Swift Standards while maintaining Swift Standards as a reference for the modified standard. This License Agreement does not grant you a license to use any of Swift’s trademarks, except the trademark ‘Swift Standards’ for the use as defined in Section 2.

You may grant sub-licenses on a royalty free basis only and provided that any such sub-license remains within the scope of your rights under this License Agreement.

All IP Rights, worldwide ownership of and rights, title and interest in and to Swift Standards, and all copies and portions thereof, are and shall remain exclusively in Swift and its licensors.

This license will terminate immediately without notice if you fail to comply with any material provision of this License Agreement.

During the thirty (30) days period immediately following the date that Swift Standards are provided to you, you may disclose that the publication of, use of or compliance with Swift Standards as presented, in whole or in part, would infringe any of your IP Rights. Upon timely disclosure and considering the non-commercial nature of Swift Standards, you agree to license any such IP Right to Swift (including the right to grant sub-licenses) on royalty-free or otherwise reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and solely for the purpose of developing, implementing, promoting and using Swift Standards.

Any non-disclosure of your IP Rights pursuant to Section 7 of this License Agreement, shall be considered as a final and irrevocable waiver to assert or enforce any such IP Right that you may own or control, against Swift or any other third party that may use Swift Standards, if the allegedly infringing activity is caused solely by the use of Swift Standards in accordance with this License Agreement.

Swift Standards are provided as is. Swift makes no express or implied representations, including but not limited to, warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose nor any warranty that the use of Swift Standards will not infringe any third party IP Rights.

Since Swift Standards result from industry consultation and are adopted by consensus among relevant industry participants, Swift will not be liable for any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages arising out of any use of Swift Standards even if Swift is expressly advised of the possibility of such damages.

This License Agreement shall be governed by Belgian law.

Any dispute concerning this License Agreement, which cannot be amicably resolved, shall be finally settled under the Rules of Conciliation and Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) by three arbitrators appointed in accordance with these rules. The arbitration proceedings shall take place in Brussels, Belgium, and shall be conducted in the English language.

Swift has a worldwide reputation for the security, availability and resilience of its network, products and services. The Swift trademarks are important vehicles of that reputation and, as such, are protected as valuable assets by Swift. In addition to safeguarding reputation, trademarks also serve to support Swift’s business and commercial interests, for example by reducing the risk of confusion with competitors or other third parties. Any improper or unauthorised use of the Swift trademarks is likely to adversely affect both Swift’s reputation and its ability to protect these interests.

These guidelines explain whether and, if so, to which extent third parties may obtain permission to use Swift trademarks. Third parties are invited to consult these guidelines. No use of Swift trademarks is permitted without Swift’s prior written permission, which is granted only in exceptional circumstances, such as through the Licence Programmes listed in Section 4. Any questions about the use of the Swift trademarks should be addressed to the Legal Department.

In this guideline, the term ‘Swift trademarks’ means all registered trademarks, non-registered trademarks, trade names and company names owned by Swift. All Swift trademarks are owned by S.W.I.F.T. SC, Avenue Adèle 1, 1310 La Hulpe, Belgium.

1.1 S.W.I.F.T. SC, SWIFT and Swift

S.W.I.F.T. SC (with dots) refers to Swift (without dots, in lower or capital letters). These variations are used to identify the company.

1.1.1 Swift as a company name

Swift is protected as a company and trade name in many countries. Swift By-laws define the company name as Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication and its abbreviation as S.W.I.F.T. SC, SWIFT, or Swift.

1.1.2 Swift as a trade name and trademark

Swift is protected as trade name and registered trademark in many countries. It is commonly used when referring to either S.W.I.F.T. SC or the specific entities in the Swift group, including S.W.I.F.T. SC, its branches and subsidiaries.

1.2 Registered product and service names

Swift has registered its main product and service names on an extensive basis worldwide. The Swift product and service names registered as trademarks are:

• SwiftNet
• Sibos
• 3SKey
• Innotribe
• MyStandards
• UETR
• Swift GPI with logo
• Alliange Gateway
• The KYC registry

1.3 Registered signs

Swift has registered the following signs as trademarks on an extensive basis worldwide.

Swift does not authorise any use of its logos by third parties unless with prior Swift approval. 

No use of Swift trademarks is permitted without Swift’s prior written permission, which is granted only in exceptional circumstances, such as through the Licence Programmes listed in Section 4.

^{THE SWIFT LOGO}

^{THE STANDARDS FORUM LOGO}

^{THE SWIFT GPI LOGO}

^{THE SWIFT GPI LOGO WITH TEXT}

Third parties may not use names or signs identical or similar to Swift trademarks in a manner which creates confusion as to the origin of the products and services offered under those names or signs, nor in a manner which affects or takes unfair advantage of the distinctive nature or reputation of Swift trademarks.

Swift does not authorise any use of its trademarks that might induce Swift customers to erroneously believe that:

• such third party is part of the Swift group or constitutes a Swift representative office,
• there is a partnership, joint venture or any other commercial connection between such third party and Swift,
• the third-party products and services are developed or supplied by Swift, under its control, or jointly with that third party,
• the third party was authorised, by licence or otherwise, to use the Swift trademarks,
• Swift is responsible for the quality of the third-party products and services.

To illustrate these principles, Swift trademarks cannot, without prior permission, either in whole, in part or in combination with other names or signs, in any way that could create confusion or association with Swift or take unfair advantage of its reputation:

• be used to designate a third-party product or service,
• be registered as trademarks by a third party in any category that creates a likelihood of confusion or association with Swift’s goods or services,
• be used as a third-party company name,
• be registered or used as domain names by a third party.

Swift reserves the right to take all necessary action against any use of its trademarks that does not comply with the present guidelines.

3.1 General

As a general rule, Swift trademarks may be used by a third party where it is necessary to indicate the intended purpose of a third-party product or service.

To illustrate this principle, third parties may refer to Swift trademarks:

• when such reference is needed to indicate the compatibility of their products or services with Swift products and services, for example in their technical documentation, advertising materials or website, and
• when such reference is in practice the only means to provide the public with comprehensible and complete information on the intended purposes of their products and services, for example by adding ‘for SwiftNet’ or ‘over SwiftNet’ to the name of their interface or business solution.

To be authorised, such referencing must:

• be made in a neutral and objective manner and in accordance with honest business practices,
• not create any risk or confusion regarding the origin of the third-party and the Swift product or service or regarding the independence between the third-party and Swift,
• not emphasize the Swift trademark in any way or manner (colour, font or size) presenting it as the prevailing element in the product or service name, and
• be made in a descriptive manner, thereby referring to the Swift products and services as being offered by Swift. When the reference is made in documentation, advertising materials or on a website, it should be accompanied with the acknowledgment: [referenced Swift trademark] is a trademark of S.W.I.F.T. SC.

3.2 Swift Standards

'Swift Standards' is the overarching name for standards products, tools and services that Swift delivers to the Swift community.

In particular, the term 'Swift Standards' covers any message-based standard or component thereof, developed by or for Swift, including the related business model, messages, message flows and documentation, whether in draft or final form.

The name 'Swift Standards' may be used when referring to FIN messages and to XML messages developed in accordance with the ISO 20022 methodology.

Messages developed by or for other organisations than Swift in accordance with the ISO 20022 methodology are not Swift Standards, but may be selected for use on SwiftNet and, as such, be included in the Swift Standards documentation. The name 'Swift Standards' may not be used in relation to those messages.

For more information, please consult our Swift Standards End-User License Agreement.

Under various programmes, Swift grants contracting parties the right to use Swift trademarks.

Only parties that satisfy the eligibility criteria of these programmes may benefit from these trademark license. For the eligibility criteria of a particular programme, please refer to the applicable Swift documentation. The currently available license programmes are:

4.1 Partner Programme

The Partner Programme is open to companies intending to provide Swift-related products or services which require co-operation with Swift, or to companies that want to promote and facilitate the sale of Swift products and services in their region.

The eligibility criteria and conditions for use of the various titles and labels are defined in the Swift Partners Programme - Terms and Conditions.

For more information, please consult the Partners section.

4.1.1 Swift Business Partners

Swift Business Partners are responsible for the promotion and sales facilitation of Swift products and services to Swift Customers.

Swift grants Business Partners the right to use the ‘Swift Business Partner' title and label, as per the following sample:

The conditions for use of this title and label are defined in the agreement with the Business Partner.

4.1.2 Swift Compatible Applications

With this label, Swift confirms a selected third-party business application as Swift Compatible, having been successfully tested against defined requirements around relevant Swift standards, messaging and connectivity. Swift provides Swift Compatible Application tracks per specific market segment, including payments, trade, securities and corporates.

The eligibility criteria to use these labels, as well as other important information about what they mean, are set out in the Swift Partner Programme Terms and Conditions.

Upon successful compatibility testing, Swift grants certain registered providers the right to use a label specifically in relation to the application, as per the following sample:

4.1.3 Swift Certified Specialists

With this label, Swift certifies that an individual specialist meets well-defined requirements in his or her specific area of technical or business expertise.

Upon certification, Swift grants the provider the right to use a label specifically in relation to the individual, as per the following sample:

4.1.4 Swift Compatible Interfaces

With this title, Swift confirms that a Swift interface developed by a customer or third party has been tested and has met certain defined technical requirements and standards.

Upon successful compatibility testing, Swift designates the interface as being a ‘Swift Compatible Interface', together with indication of the type of interface and applicable SwiftNet Release with which it has been found compatible.

4.1.5 Swift CSP Assessment Provider

With this label, Swift grants CSP Assessment Providers which comply with all eligibility criteria as defined in the CSP Assessor Certification Framework the right to use the ‘Swift CSP Assessment Provider' title.

Swift grants Swift CSP Assessment Providers the right to use the label, as per the following sample:

4.1.6 Swift CSP Certified Assessor

With this label, Swift certifies that a CSP assessor meets well-defined requirements to act as a Swift CSP Certified Assessor in accordance with the CSP Assessor Certification Framework.

Upon certification, Swift grants the Swift CSP Certified Assessor the right to use a label specifically in relation to the individual, as per the following sample:

4.1.7 Swift Enabler Partners

Swift Value-added Services Enabler Partners and Business Connect Enabler Partners enable access of Swift products and services to Swift Customers.

Upon admission to the Enabler Programme, Swift grants these Enabler Partners the right to use the respective labels as per the following samples:

The conditions for use these labels, as well as other important information about what they mean, are set out in the Swift Partner Programme Terms and Conditions.

Information about the Enabler Programme is set out in the Swift Enabler Programme Terms and Condition.

4.2 Shared Infrastructure Programme

Under the Swift Shared Infrastructure Programme, Swift grants Service bureaux that meet all eligibility criteria the right to use the ‘Swift Service Bureau' title.

Once granted by Swift, a Service Bureau can refer to their compliance with the mandatory requirements under the Shared Infrastructure Programme.

4.3 National Member Groups and National User Groups

Swift grants National Member and User Groups the right to use the National Member, Group or National User Group title and logo.

The conditions for use of the title and logo are defined in the Guidelines for the use of the Swift National Member and User Group logo, and available on request from the Legal Department.

4.4 Sibos Exhibitors

The Sibos trademark designates Swift’s annual conference for the worldwide financial community. It originally stood for Swift International Banking Operations Seminar. It has since grown to include the entire financial industry, including securities, trade and treasury.

Sibos is entirely written in lower case (sibos) when used in combination with the logo, and as a proper noun (Sibos) when used without the logo. Sibos is NOT written with upper case (SIBOS).

Swift grants companies who register as Sibos exhibitors the right to use the Sibos official exhibitor logo.

The conditions to register as Sibos exhibitor and to use the Official exhibitor logo are defined in the Sibos Exhibitor agreement.

‘Swift’ means Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication SC.

‘Swift Translation Rules’ means all the necessary information to translate a particular MT or MX source message to its equivalent MX or MT message as developed by Swift. The Swift Translation Rules provide field-by-field translation rules including pre-conditional rules that aim to check the translatability of a message.

‘IP Rights’ means all copyright, proprietary know-how, patent rights (including patent applications), trade secret or any other intellectual or industrial property rights.

Swift hereby grants you a worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferrable, non-sub-licensable, limited license to use Swift Translation Rules for (i) the development of software-based services to support the transmission of information in accordance with the Swift Translation Rules and (ii) the marketing of support transmission services of Swift messaging services for your direct clients. When you license your support transmission services of Swift messaging services for your direct clients, it includes for your clients the right to benefit of the Swift Translation Rules as a component of your service.

In avoidance of any doubt, you may not, directly or indirectly, sell, provide or communicate, whatsoever the manner, the Swift Translation Rules. You may not (attempt to) decompile or modify Swift Translation Rules while maintaining Swift Translation Rules as a reference for the modified standard. This License Agreement does not grant you a license to use any of Swift’s trademarks, except the trademark ‘Swift Translation Rules’ for the use as defined in Section 2.

All IP Rights, worldwide ownership of and rights, title and interest in and to Swift Translation Rules, and all copies and portions thereof, are and shall remain exclusively in Swift and its licensors.

This license will terminate immediately without notice if you fail to comply with any material provision of this License Agreement or the non-payment of the associated fees.

During the thirty (30) days period immediately following the date that Swift Translation Rules are provided to you, you may disclose that the publication of, use of or compliance with Swift Translation Rules as presented, in whole or in part, would infringe any of your IP Rights. Upon timely disclosure and considering the nature of Swift Translation Rules, you agree to license any such IP Right to Swift (including the right to grant sub-licenses) on royalty-free or otherwise reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and solely for the purpose of developing, implementing, promoting and using Swift Translation Rules.

Any non-disclosure of your IP Rights pursuant to Section 6 of this License Agreement, shall be considered as a final and irrevocable waiver to assert or enforce any such IP Right that you may own or control, against Swift or any other third party that may use Swift Translation Rules, if the allegedly infringing activity is caused solely by the use of Swift Translation Rules in accordance with this License Agreement.

Swift Translation Rules are provided as is. Swift makes no express or implied representations, including but not limited to, warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose nor any warranty that the use of Swift Translation Rules will not infringe any third party IP Rights.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall Swift be liable for any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages arising out of any use of Swift Translation Rules even if Swift is expressly advised of the possibility of such damages.

This License Agreement shall be governed by Belgian law.
Any dispute concerning this License Agreement, which cannot be amicably resolved, shall be finally settled under the Rules of Conciliation and Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) by three arbitrators appointed in accordance with these rules. The arbitration proceedings shall take place in Brussels, Belgium, and shall be conducted in the English language.