Italy Chapter of Global Patent GO——Introduction to Italian Patent Application

Italy Opening a New Chapter of the Silk Road

As an ancient civilization, Italy was once crucial to the world. The bright moments of human history once bloomed brightly and dazzlingly in the Apennine Peninsula, and the brilliance brought to world civilization during the Renaissance has still influenced the inspiration of mankind. After World War II, Italy quickly grew from a weak economy based on agriculture to the seventh largest economy in the world. With its highly influential and innovative business, highly creative and high-quality automobile industry, electrical industry and The garment industry is famous all over the world.

Although China and Italy officially established diplomatic relations in 1970, we all know that, long before Marco Polo arrived in China, Ban Chao, the special envoy of Emperor Hanhe, was sent to Daqin. Ivory and other rare treasures, China sent a large amount of silk to ancient Rome through the Silk Road... In 2020, the bilateral trade between China and Italy reached 55.185 billion US dollars, and China became Italy's largest trading partner in Asia. In the 21st century, Chinese companies have stepped up their acquisitions of Italian companies. ZTE and Enel signed an agreement in 2014 to cooperate in the fields of electric vehicles, intelligent transmission networks and renewable energy; Zoomlion 2.71 100 million euros to acquire CIFA Group, the world's third largest concrete machinery manufacturer; Shandong Heavy Industry acquired 75% of Ferretti Yachting Company's equity for 374 million euros; State Grid acquired 35% of CDP RETI, a wholly-owned energy network subsidiary of Italian deposit and loan bank, for 2.101 billion euros Shanghai Electric acquired a 40% stake in Italy's Ansaldo Energy, the world's fourth largest gas turbine manufacturer, for 400 million euros; China National Chemical Corporation acquired a 26.2% stake in Pirelli for 7.1 billion euros.

Unlike most countries, small and medium-sized enterprises in Italy play an extremely important role in the economic operation of the Italian country. The output value created by small and medium-sized enterprises exceeds two-thirds of the GDP, in precision machinery, vehicles, chemicals and electronic products. , the export volume occupies the 8th place in the world. Italy began to implement the "Industry 4.0" plan in 2017, involving nine key technology areas, including: advanced manufacturing, additive manufacturing, augmented reality technology, simulation technology, horizontal and vertical system integration, industrial Internet of Things, cloud computing, network Security and Big Data and Analytics. The government is currently continuing to accelerate the construction of information infrastructure, formulate open standards for the Internet of Things, reduce and exempt 30% of taxes on investment in start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, and provide more support for enterprises.

In recent years, there has been a surge in the number of patent applications filed by Chinese applicants in Italy, especially in the field of industrial designs. As a big design country, Italy has almost all-round protection for design patents. Today we will take a look at the Italian patent system.

Introduction to Italian Patent System

1. Paths for Chinese applicants to apply for patents in Italy

Paris Convention, via Nationalization of PCT to Italian national phase, direct application.

2. Review unit

The Italian Patent and Trademark Office, UIBM, is part of the Ministry of Economic Development. Regarding the meaning of patents, UIBM emphasizes that patents do not give the right holder "freedom of use or the right to use the technology covered by it", but only the right to exclude others from using the same technology.

3. Submit your application

1) Deadline requirement: UIBM accepts priority restoration. From July 2020, PCT applications can directly enter the Italian national phase 30 months from the priority date/international filing date without going through the European process.

2) Patent applications can be submitted online or through local chambers of commerce in the country.

3) The application can be submitted in any language, but the Italian translation must be submitted within 2 months from the date of application. If the Certified Priority Document is not in Italian, an Italian translation of the priority text is required.

4. Novelty search

According to the agreement signed between UIBM and the EPO, all Italian first patent applications for inventions receive a search report and a patentability report prepared by the EPO.

5. Disclosure procedure

A patent applicant may request publication of a patent application within 90 days from the filing date, otherwise, the patent applicant will be published after 18 months from the priority/filing date.

6. Review and Authorization

After the patent application is published, UIBM will decide whether to grant it based on the EPO search results and the applicant's reply. Basically, UIBM only has novelty requirements for patent applications, and for patent applications that do not require priority, an granted decision will be issued after the first trial. There is no granted registration fee in Italy, but the patent maintenance fee needs to be paid from the fifth year from the filing date.

7. Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC)

As a member of the EU, Italy can enjoy the EU's patent supplementary protection certificate system to compensate for the market monopoly power that new drugs do not enjoy during the development and approval process. The maximum period of SPC protection is 5 years.

8. Term of patent protection

Invention: 20 years; for invention patents related to pharmaceuticals, pesticides or agrochemicals, the protection period can be extended for 5 years;

Utility model: 10 years;

Appearance design: The basic protection period is 5 years, which can be renewed every 5 years, and the longest period shall not exceed 25 years.

Advantages of Italian patent application

1. An applicant can apply for an invention and a utility model at the same time, and UIBM decides which patent to grant. When responding to the examination opinion on patentability, the applicant can file a request to transform the invention into a utility model, which can then be granted.

2. Italian industrial designs include design (two-dimensional) or shape (three-dimensional). Designs protect aesthetic or decorative elements in the appearance of a product, not technical functions. The appearance of any industrial or handicraft product in whole or in part, such as lines, contours, colours, shapes, surface structures, the product itself or the materials which decorate it, can be registered. Eligible designs are also eligible for EU unregistered design, copyright, trademark and unfair competition protection.

3. There is a 1-year grace period for Italian industrial designs without loss of novelty. Within 1 year before the filing date (including the priority date), the industrial design is disclosed by itself, abused by others without the consent of the industrial designer, or based on explicit or implicit The disclosure of the confidentiality commitment contained in the patent to the third party will not affect the novelty of the patent application.

4. Italian criminal law stipulates design-related crimes, and Italian customs and police can take design enforcement measures according to law.

Friendliness to Chinese applicants:

★★★★

Gold content of patent rights:

★★★

Rights Protection Mechanism

★★★★