The Italian government has responded to the country "Industrial property code" revised. The revision relates to national patents, The coexistence of the unitary patent and the European patent, Rights of inventors in research institutions, And how to protect intellectual property rights at the exhibition. Lawyers' groups in Italy hope the move will help make Italy's intellectual property system more efficient.

After months of discussion, Italian government at the Patent and Trademark Office (UIBM) With the support of, right "Industrial property code" A number of revisions were made. The House of Representatives of the Italian Parliament 2023 years 7 month 18 The revised bill was formally approved on Tuesday, The amendment has been submitted 8 month 23 Effective from today.

UIBM In a press release it issued, The reform has two main objectives, One is to improve the competitiveness of Italy's courts and intellectual property protection system, The second is to simplify procedures and promote digitization.

The impact on patents

At home "Industrial property code" In the process of comprehensive revision, One of the most important amendments concerns the coexistence of the Italian national patent with the European patent or unitary patent. Prior to revision, "Industrial property code" The first 59 clause, If either party has filed a European patent or unitary patent designating Italy on the same date, And these patents have the same priority date, Then the corresponding Italian national patent will be invalid.

merely, From the looks of things right now, A patent owner may use both a national patent and a European patent or unitary patent to protect his invention. This will enable patent owners to choose whether to use national patents to enforce their intellectual property rights in Italian courts, Or to exercise their intellectual property rights under the European Patent or unitary patent before the Unitary Patent Court. Some Italian patent lawyers think, Allowing both types of patents to coexist means that patent owners will gain greater flexibility.

however, Herbert Smith Freehills Laura, Italian managing partner and global Head of intellectual property at the law firm．Orlando (Laura Orlando) expression: "From a litigation point of view, The problem I found in my practice is this, The new law does not address the parallel Unitary Patent Court (UPC) The lawsuit limits the implementation of Italy 'dual' The patent protection mechanism makes any provision. Does this happen often? That remains to be seen. merely, This may leave room for a variety of possible program strategies. "

"Professorial privilege" The end of

In addition, From the various measures that may affect patent owners, The Italian government also questioned the bill's No 65 Major changes have been made to the article. before, This provision provides that inventors employed by public universities or research institutions may retain all rights to the invention, So called "Professorial privilege" .

The government's revisions have essentially overturned that rule. This means that a private or public university or research institution will own all rights to an invention that can be protected by a patent, Inventors employed by these institutions may be designated as creators. merely, The employer must 6 File a patent application for the invention within a month. If the employer has not done so, Then the inventor can apply in his own name.

It is reported, There's been a lot of discussion in academia about this "Professorial privilege" criticize. now, The professors hope that the new reform plan will promote the transfer of technology from research institutions to companies, To promote the use of intellectual property rights.

Seizure of products is now permitted

In addition, Italy also abolished the No 129 Article No 3 Provisions relating to seizure of potentially infringing products at exhibitions. Before this, This provision expressly prohibits the direct seizure of products, Only descriptions of products are allowed to be deleted. therewith, Many market participants have praised this as a positive measure that can be used to combat infringement.

At the same time, The Italian Government has also amended the law on the validity of patents 60 clause. After revision, The validity of the patent is 20 years.

It is reported, Certain litigants have in the past used No 60 The official expiration date has been questioned. therefore, The new amendment should bring the clause into line with "European Patent convention" The first 131 More consistent bar, The latter provides a clear method for calculating the period.

To provide a boost to the Italian market

On the whole, These amendments should simplify the procedure, Improve system efficiency. Such as, This is reflected in the introduction of provisions aimed at abolishing the obligation to submit documents in hard copy (The first 147 article) Is particularly prominent. moreover, The amended Act also provides parties with additional 1 Months to pay the royalties.

In addition, revise "Industrial property code" It also aims to improve the overall competitiveness of Italian companies, It also promotes the use and enforcement of intellectual property rights. therewith, Market participants expect the new amendment to lead to an increase in patent cases. Except for cases in the Italian domestic courts, UPC The Milan court's caseload will also grow. This year 5 month, Milan, the capital of Italy's Lombardy region, was confirmed as UPC The central branch's No 3 a, It is also the location of the last branch. (Be compiled from www. juve-patent. com)

TRANSLATORS: Liu Peng　proofread: Wang Dan



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