Protection and exploitation of designs
According to the Code of Industrial Property, this category includes all designs representing the appearance of the whole product (even complex), or part of it according to its characteristics of lines, contours, colours, shape, texture, materials or its ornamentation, provided that it is new and has an individual character.
A product is any industrial or handicraft item; a complex product is composed of multiple components which can be replaced.
Our firm’s customers can use the following services:
- consulting and assistance for the protection of designs;
- preparing and filing applications for the protection of designs in any state, country of the European Union or internationally;
- transfer of models or designs in Italy and abroad, licensing and preparation of related documents;
- providing advice on issues of validity or infringement;
Design
The appearance of the entire product or of a part of it which results, in particular, from the characteristics of the lines, contours, colors, shape, surface structure or materials of the product itself may be subject to registration as designs and models or of its decoration, provided that they are new and have an individual character.
By product we mean any industrial or handicraft object, including, inter alia, components that must be assembled to form a complex product, packaging, presentations, graphic symbols and typographic characters, excluding computer programs.
By complex product we mean a product made up of several components that can be replaced, allowing the product to be disassembled and reassembled.
A design or model is new if no identical design or model has been disclosed before the date of submission of the application for registration, or, if priority is claimed, before the date of the latter. The designs or models are deemed to be identical when their characteristics differ only in irrelevant details.
A design or model has individual character if the general impression it arouses in the informed user differs from the general impression aroused in that user by any design or model which has been disclosed before the date of submission of the application for registration or, if it is claimed the priority, before the date of the latter. In ascertaining the individual character, the margin of freedom from which the author has benefited in creating the design or model is taken into consideration
The registration of the design or model lasts five years from the date of submission of the application. The holder can obtain an extension of the duration for one or more periods of five years up to a maximum of twenty-five years from the date of submission of the registration application.
The registration of a design or model gives the owner the exclusive right to use it and to prohibit third parties from using it without his consent. In particular, acts of use include the manufacture, offer, marketing, import, export or use of a product in which the design or model is incorporated or to which it is applied, or the possession of such a product for such purposes.
Registration protects a design (model or design) in the entire Italian territory and in the State of San Marino, and it can also be recognised in the Vatican City. It is valid for 5 years, with the possibility of renewal up to a maximum of 25 years.
Italian designRegistration protects a design in all EU countries. It is valid for 5 years, with the possibility of renewal up to a maximum of 25 years.
Registration protects the design (model or design) that meets the requirements of the national legislation of the states designated in the application. It is valid for 5 years, with the possibility of renewal up to a maximum of 25 years.
There are several levels of protection: national, EU and international.
