A significant procedural development is taking place in the field of industrial property protection in the Gulf region: the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have officially acceded to the Locarno Agreement, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which establishes an international classification system for industrial designs.
On 19 August 2026, The Bahamas officially acceded to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), becoming the 159th Contracting State to the Treaty. As a result of its accession, international patent applications filed on or after 19 August 2026 will automatically include The Bahamas among the designated States.
The UAE Trade mark Office has opened Class 33 to trade mark applications covering alcoholic beverages, marking an important change for international beverage and hospitality brands.
On 14 September 2026, the IP Specialized Court of Rome issued judgment No. 12804, which we consider of particular interest for foreign trade mark owners and IP counsels managing international registrations designating Italy.
In an economy increasingly based on knowledge, a significant part of a company’s value is not necessarily embodied in a patent, a trade mark or another registered intellectual property right. Technologies, production processes, algorithms, formulas, …
On 1 July 2026, the second and most substantial phase of the European design reform entered into force (Regulation (EU) 2024/2822 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/138), as previously discussed in our newsletters. Below is a recap of the main updates introduced under the new framework:
As you are aware, under Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 (adopted on 18 October 2023), effective from December 2025, businesses producing craft or industrial products (such as natural stones, wooden goods, jewelry, textiles, and glass) tied to tradition and geographic origin can register their Geographical Indications through a centralized procedure managed by the EUIPO
Beginning 1 September 2026, mandatory verification through the Unified System of Identification and Authentication (USIA) will take effect for all .RU, .РФ (.xn--p1ai), and .SU domain names. Domain holders must link their domains to an officially verified organization in Russia via an employee holding a verified personal USIA account.
As you know, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program represents a key mechanism for accelerating patent prosecution before a target Patent Office by leveraging positive examination work performed by partner offices.
On 17 June 2026, the European Parliament gave its final approval to the new Regulation (2026/1388) on plants obtained through certain New Genomic Techniques (NGTs)—commonly referred to in Italy as Assisted Evolution Technologies (TEAs)—and their derived products.
On 1 June 2026, the Unitary Patent (UP) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) celebrated their third anniversary. After an initial launch phase followed by a period of procedural consolidation, the system has now reached full operational maturity and has become a key component of patent protection strategies across Europe.
The 2026 edition of the EUIPO SME Fund is attracting greater interest than initially expected. As recently reported by the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (UIBM), voucher applications filed between 2 February and 20 April 2026 reached 22,040, representing a 37% increase compared to the same period in 2025.
On 28 April 2026, Health Canada (the federal agency responsible for the regulation of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products in Canada) granted Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories authorization for the first generic injectable semaglutide product on the Canadian market.
As is known, both the EU and Italian trademark law provide for the registration of so called “non-traditional trademarks”, including sound marks and other non-visual signs. A recent development from Italy concerns a sound mark application filed before the EUIPO in the name of the Italian singer Giusy Ferreri.
We were delighted to attend this year’s INTA Annual Meeting, which once again proved to be an excellent opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and clients from all over the world and to exchange views on the latest developments in trademark practice.
