INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN ITALY

The Italian trademark legislation is the Code of Industrial Property Rights, which entered into force in March 2005. It is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in Italy.
For getting a trademark registered in Italy, an application has to be filed with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (UIBM) directly online or through the Chambers of Commerce, which administers the entire trademark registration process.
It follows a ‘first-to-file’ system, which means that trademark registration is mandatory for protection.
Italy follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are possible.
The third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within three (03) months following its publication date in the official bulletin.
In Italy, registered trademarks have a validity of ten (10) years from the date of application, which can be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is six (06) months.
The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.

Italy is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
The regulation of patents in Italy is governed by the provisions of the Civil Code (Arts. 2584-2591) and the Patent Act No. 1127 of 1939 as revised by Law No. 338 of 1979.
For seeking patent protection in Italy, an application has to be filed with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (UIBM), which administers the entire process of patent grant.
In Italy, an invention that satisfies the conditions of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.
The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
There is no pre-grant opposition procedure available against patents.
Patents are protected for twenty (20) years commencing from the date of the filing.
Annual fees are due starting from the 5th year and become payable after grant. If the annual fees become due while the application is still pending, they should be paid within four (04) months from the date of grant. All subsequent annual fees should be paid in advance before the last day of the month containing the anniversary of the filing date.
Late payment is possible within a grace period of six (06) months by paying the corresponding surcharge.

The Designs Act 2000 governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Italy.
For getting an industrial design registered in Italy, an application has to be filed with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office, which administers the entire process of registration.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Italy include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Opposition against an industrial design application can't be raised in Italy.
The industrial design patent in Italy is valid for five (05) years from the date of filing and may be further renewed for one or more periods of five (05) years each up to a total term of twenty-five (25) years from the date of filing.
There is no grace period to renew a registered industrial design.

Italy is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Law no. 633 of 22 April 1941 and the Civil Code of 1942, Arts. 2575–2583 - are the basic laws governing copyright protection in Italy.
In Italy, copyright comes into existence as soon as the work is created. There is no formal registration procedure.
The standard copyright protection term lasts for seventy (70) years from the death of the author.
Where there are multiple authors, and for cinematographic works, the economic rights expire seventy (70) years after the death of the last surviving author.
For works in which the economic rights are owned by government, academies, public bodies, and non-profit cultural organizations, the duration of the economic rights is twenty (20) years from the first publication.