On the strength of the increasing number of applications in the past years (over 31,000 in 2024), the EUIPO SME Fund has now been confirmed for the year 2025, too. The fifth consecutive edition of this Fund, which is dedicated to assist the growth of EU small and medium-sized enterprises by making available partial reimbursement of costs for applications for patents, trademarks
Until a short time ago, the processing of wines for the purpose of reducing their alcohol content was allowed only if the relevant processes were carried out abroad. On 20 December 2024, the Ministerial Decree No. 672816 issued by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (MASAF) introduced significant innovations in the Italian wine sector
Uruguay About to Join the PCT On 7 January 2025 Uruguay will join the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), thus bringing the number of member countries to 158. In this connection, it is worth noting that according to a reservation made by Uruguay the Uruguayan Patent Office shall not be bound by Chapter II of the PCT.
After the EU Design Reform, here is another piece of news from the design world: on 22 November 2024 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) adopted the Design Law Treaty. The Treaty, which saw the light of day during the Diplomatic Conference held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after almost 20 years of preparatory work.
The yearly ‘Festival della Canzone Italiana’ (Italian Song Festival) held in the charming Ligurian town of Sanremo is one of the most important and long-running music festivals in the world that Italians of all generations have been attending or watching on TV for more than 70 years.
The European Patent Office (EPO) has recently upgraded its Deep Tech Finder. Deep Tech Finder is the digital platform established by the EPO to promote exchanges between the university and startup world and business realities by making available a comprehensive collection of university-filed and startup-filed European patent applications.
As recently stated by the Italian Ministry of Business and Made in Italy (MIMIT) “given the serious impact of counterfeiting on the macroeconomic level and microeconomic level, anti-counterfeiting policies represent a central element of industrial policies and contribute to supporting the competitiveness of the national production system”.
In our April 2024 issue we reported the formal adoption of the EU Design Reform by the EU Parliament and briefly discussed the most relevant changes introduced by this reform. Now, both the Regulation (EU) 2024/2822 amending Council Regulation No 6/2002 on Community designs and repealing Commission Regulation No 2246/2002 (the Amending Regulation) and Directive (EU) 2024/2823 on the legal protection of designs
We are delighted to announce that Manuela Bruscolini will attend the 76th Council Meeting of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA 2024), to be held from 18 to 21 November 2024 in the bustling heart of Metro Manila, a unique networking opportunity to connect with IP professionals and industries from Asia and across the globe.
After reopening not a long time ago, Voucher 1 (not usable in Italy), Voucher 2 and Voucher 3 of the EUIPO SME Fund have recently been closed again due to exhaustion of available funds.
The Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 issued by the European Union and effective 1 August 2024 (so-called “AI Act”) is the first regulation in the world that sets rules to artificial intelligence, a technology which is increasingly impacting on the lives of us all. Artificial intelligence has powerfully emerged as a tool to simplify the creation of content – text, images, video, audio, software code, etc.
Italy, among several other countries, provides for the possibility of a License of Right in respect of patent applications or granted patents. Provided that no exclusive license has been recorded with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office, a licence for non-exclusive use of that invention can be offered to the public either upon filing of the patent application or during pendency of the application or after grant of the patent.
As known, a seniority claim enables the holder of a European trademark (EUTM) to claim prior rights in one or more EU member states based on existing national trademarks in the countries concerned. If the claim is successful, it retroactively extends the EUTM’s protection in those countries to the date of the earlier national registrations, which therefore might not necessarily be kept in force.
After ratifying the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) last May, on 1 September 2024 Romania joined the Unitary Patent (UP) system, thereby bringing the territorial coverage of the Unitary Patent from the original 17 Member States to 18 Member States.
A decision issued by the Court of Bari on 1 August 2024 has stressed a key principle of plant variety protection, namely that of the novelty requirement. In this respect, it is worth remembering that unlike invention patents, where absolute novelty is required
