Latest changes in the Italian Code of Industrial Property

On 10 February 2007 a substantial change occurred in the (even recent) Italian Code of Industrial Property concerning the applicability of copyright to designs and models, with the modification of Articles 44 and 239. With the modification of Art. 44, the duration of the rights to the economic use of industrial designs and model according to the copyright law are extended from 25 to 70 years after the death of the author (or after the death of the last of the co-authors). Therefore, said change equals the duration of protection of designs and models to all other works protected by copyright. With the modification of Art. 239, it is stated that the protection granted to designs and models according to the Copyright law “does not operate in respect of the products which were or had come into the public domain” before 19 April 2001. This simplifies the previous law that postponed for 10 years starting from 19 April 2001 the copyright enforcement “in respect of those who, prior to that date, started the manufacture, the offer or the sale of products made in accordance with designs and models which were or had come into the public domain”. For further information, please contact our Milan office (Studio Legale Mariacristina Rapisardi) or write to legal@rapisardi.com


04/20/2007 | Patent