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Reopening of the calls “Marchi+3” and Disegni+4“

by PGA PGA No Comments

The Italian Ministry of Economic Development (Directorate General for the Protection of Industrial Property – Italian Patent and Trademark Office) has adopted the decree to reopen the calls “Marchi+3” and “Disegni+4”, that had been closed due to the exhaustion of financial resources in recent months.

The call “Marchi+3” will reopen from 9:00 a.m. on September 30, 2020.
The call “Disegni+4” will reopen from 9:00 a.m. on October 14, 2020.

Applications may be submitted until  resources have been available.

The Call for Marchi+3 allows for facilitations relating to expenses incurred between June 1, 2016 and the date of submission of the request for facilitations for: project of the trademark, prior art searches and subsequent filing of the European Union or International trademark, as well as for any legal costs for trademark protection actions in response to Office actions or third party oppositions.

The incentive provided for in the Disegni+4 notice is recognized for the enhancement (production and marketing) of a single design or of one or more designs belonging to the same multiple application, registered – with any national or regional intellectual/industrial Property Office – starting from January 1 2018 and in any case on the date prior to the submission of the facilitation application.

The full version of the Calls and the related documentation required for the submission of applications are available on the following websites:
https://www.marchipiu3.it/
http://www.disegnipiu4.it/

The PGA staff is at your disposal for any clarification.

PGA Intellectual Property Newsletter – 01/06/2020

by PGA PGA No Comments
Vespa design wins again at EUIPO

In 2019 the Court of Appeal of Turin had ruled that the unmistakable design of Vespa is protectable both in terms of the three-dimensional trademark and in terms of copyright. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has recently returned to the topic. The cancellation division has in fact declared the design registered by a person of Chinese nationality null and void. The story began at the famous EICMA 2019 exhibition in Milan. At that event, the competitor had started promoting vespa-like motorcycles, which had been promptly removed by the competent authorities of the exhibition centre on Piaggio’s initiative.

Kiko v. Wycon: copyright and interior design

The Italian Supreme Court of Cassation, with judgement no. 8433 of 30.04.2020 issued between Wycon S.p.a., formerly Wjcon S.r.l. (“WYCON”) and Kiko S.p.A. (“KIKO”) has ruled that a project or a work of interior designis protectable, under certain circumstances, also as a work of architecture within the meaning of Article 2, no. 5 l.a.

Incredible result for the “Disegni +4” incentives: sold out only a few minutes after opening

From 9.00 a.m. on 27 May 2020, it has been possible to apply for access to the Designs +4 measure, a recognized incentive to support SMEs for the purchase of specialized services aimed at the enhancement of designs. However, the applications submitted for access to the facility were numerous until the allocated resources were exhausted in a few minutes. In a very short time, a sufficient number of applications were sent to Unioncamere, via the portal www.disegnipiu4.it, to exhaust the total funding allocated of €13 million.

Common Practice CP8: when a trademark is used in a different form from the registered one?

EUIPO has adopted the CP8 common practice on the use of the trademark in a form other than the registered one. The CP8 project is part of the European Cooperation Projects under the name ECP4. The purpose is to establish common criteria and principles for assessing whether or not changes in the trademark used lead to an alteration of the distinctive character of the registered sign.