Italian Patent and Trademark Office publishes 2019 results

The IPTO has published data on decisions taken in 2019 concerning patents, trademarks and designs. Patent applications exceeded 10,000 for the first time since 2006. Over 65,000 applications for the registration of national trademarks, including renewals and international trademarks designating Italy, were received in 2019.

The new Italian regulation of ambush marketing has been approved

Ambush marketing is the association of a brand to a media event without the consent of the organizers. The case of the Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner is well known. During the Denmark/Portugal match of the 2012 European Football Championship, he showed his briefs under the brand name “Paddy Power”, an Irish online bookmaker company.
In view of the next European Football Championships of 2021, the Italian Government has issued Law Decree no. 16 of 11 March 2020 containing “Urgent provisions for the organization and conduct of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina 2026 and the ATP Torino 2021-2025 finals, as well as a ban on parasitic advertising”. In particular, the Decree prohibits parasitic advertising activities carried out during sports events or events of national or international importance, if not authorized by the organizers.

COVID-19: further postponement of deadlines for UIBM +4, POC 2020 and Marchi +3 calls

The Ministry of Economic Development recently ordered a further postponement of the terms relating to “Designs +4” (which provide bonuses for services aimed at enhancing the value of registered designs), “POC 2020”. (which finances patent enhancement programs) and “Marchi +3” (a program to facilitate the registration of national trademarks abroad).
Below is a brief description of the new terms.
Designs +4: postponement of the deadline for the submission of applications to 9:00 a.m. on 27 May 2020.
POC 2020: postponement of the deadline for the submission of exploitation programmes to 24:00 on 20 May 2020.
Marchi +3: postponement of the deadline for submission of applications to 9:00 a.m. on 10 June 2020.

EPO: new update on measures taken for COVID-19

The EPO has decided to postpone until further notice the oral proceedings before the Examination and Opposition Divisions until 30 April 2020, unless the examination procedure by videoconference is confirmed. A pilot project for the video-conferencing oral objection procedure will be launched.
All events organized by the EPO in March, April and May are postponed. The organizers will contact the participants on an individual basis and, where possible, inform them of the new dates.

IPTO: further postponement of proceedings deadlines

With the entry into force (9 April 2020) of a new decree, the suspension provided for by the “Cura Italia” decree of all deadlines, including the mandatory ones, relating to administrative proceedings, upon partial or ex officio request, pending on 23 February 2020 or started after that date, was further extended.
In fact, Decree Law no. 23 of 8 April 2020 was published on “Urgent measures concerning access to credit and tax compliance for businesses, special powers in strategic sectors, as well as measures concerning health and work, extension of administrative and procedural deadlines”, which in Article 37 states that “The deadline of 15 April 2020 provided for in paragraphs 1 and 5 of Article 103 of Decree Law no. 18 of 17 March 2020 is extended to 15 May 2020”.