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Intellectual Property Law in Italy

Intellectual Property Law in Italy

The intellectual property legislation in Italy is comprised of five major fields, which refer to the definition, registration and protection, time frame of intellectual property rights. Both natural persons and legal entities in Italy interested in protecting an intellectual property right on the Italian territory should know that the country has been a member state of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) starting with 1977 and thus, the competent authorities in the field modified the applicable legislation following the WIPO’s regulationsOur team of lawyers in Italy can provide in-depth assistance on the main legal acts regulating this field. 

Italian patents 

Patents in Italy refer to a wide range of inventions, which have to respect a set of criteria in order to be acknowledged as patents, as mentioned below: 

novelty;

inventive step;

industrial application

The main rules of law which refer to the Italian patents are the Civil Code and the Patent Act No. 1127. It is also important to know that Italy is a member state of the Patents Cooperation Treaty, which allow a person or a company interested in the protection of the respective patent to apply for an international patent applicationOur team of Italian lawyers can offer more details on this procedure. 

Trademarks in Italy  

trademark in Italy refers to numerous graphic representations which are used to provide a unique graphic identity to a product, service or company on the local market. Trademarks also refer to the following: 

• names of persons;

• drawings; 

• letters;

• figures; 

• sounds;

• the shape of a product;

• the packaging of a product;

• color shapes; 

• combinations of the above mentioned. 

The registration of a trademark in Italy is performed following the regulations of the Italian Trade Mark Law and it is important to know that, under the applicable legislation, the respective sign will be protected on the local market for a period of ten years. However, the applicant may request to renew the application prior to the expiration date. 

Intellectual property in Italy is also comprised of copyright, which refers to various literary, musical, artistic, cinematographic or photographic works that are considered original on the Italian market

Copyright in Italy is regulated by the Civil Code and the Copyright Law No. 633

Intellectual property disputes that may arise on the Italian territory can be handled following the regulations provided by WIPO and our attorneys in Italy can offer more details. Please contact our law firm in Italy for an in-depth presentation on the Intellectual Property Law, which also includes designs and utility models