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Official fees cancelled for patents, utility models and designs in Italy as from 1 January 2006

ITALY - LEGISLATION UPDATE

Italy's 2006 Financial Law, definitively approved this morning, cancels as from 1 January 2006 all filing and maintenance fees for Italian patents, utility models and designs as well as for European patents validated in Italy.

A provision of Italy 's 2006 Financial Law, definitively approved this morning, CANCELS AS FROM 1 JANUARY 2006:

1 - ALL OFFICIAL FEES concerning filing and maintenance (including recordals) of:

Italian patents
Italian utility models
Italian designs
European patents validated in Italy.

2 - STAMP FEES due on filing of applications for the grant of the above IP rights.

The cancellation does not concern any fee relating to supplementary protection certificates, semiconductor topographies, new plant varieties and trademarks, which therefore remain unchanged.

The above government initiative has been unsuccessfully criticized by all interested circles and even opposed in Parliament for its negative effects on the patent system (inter alia: all patents and designs etc. will last in Italy for the entire legal term, the Italian quotas due to the European Patent Office for European patents validated in Italy by foreign owners will be borne by the Italian Treasury, etc.). It is likely that, after general elections in Spring 2006, the new government will review this matter and re-introduce at least some of the cancelled fees, in particular maintenance fees.

22 December 2005