Regulations Concerning Patents for Industrial Models
(Royal Decree No. 1354 of October 31, 1941, as Last Amended by Law No. 60 of February 14, 1987)*
TABLE OF CONTENTS**
Sections
1. The application for an industrial model patent, referred to in Royal Decree No. 1411 of August 25, 1940,1 which contains the legislative provisions on patents for industrial models, may be filed by Italian nationals or by foreigners, whether natural persons, companies, associations or legal persons, or by a number of natural persons collectively.
Where the application is filed by a company, an association or a legal person, the name and registered offices of the company or of the legal person must be given.
* Italian title: Regio decreto 31 ottobre 1949, n. 1354. Testo delle disposizioni regolamentari in materia di brevetti per modelli industriali. Entry into force (of the 1987 Law): March 20, 1987. Source: Official texts provided by the national authorities.
** Added by WIPO.
1 See Industrial Property Laws and Treaties, ITALY – Text 1007.
3. The application may be filed by the creator of the model or by his successor in title or again by his representative.
The application must contain:
(1) the surname, forename, nationality and domicile of the applicant, together with those of his
representative, where applicable. Any change in the domicile stated in the application must be notified to the Central Patent Office.
(2) Reference to the model, in the form of a title, stating the industrial products whose manufacture is to be covered by the exclusive right, the characteristics of the products claimed and, where necessary for the understanding of the model, the aims pursued by those characteristics.
Protection of special denominations or signs intended to distinguish the products can only be obtained through a separate application, filed in accordance with the Trademark Law, and the model may not contain any denomination or sign of that kind.
[Repealed.]
4. The following shall accompany the application:
(1) a graphic reproduction of the model or industrial products whose manufacture is to be covered by the exclusive right, or a sample of the products, in accordance with Sections 5 et seq.;
accompany the application. Where priority is claimed, the documents referred to in Sections 15 et seq. must also accompany the application.
The drawings must be executed in lines drawn in black, indelible ink on card, paper or canvas.
The plates, bearing the required and duly cancelled tax stamps, shall measure, within a margin of at least two centimeters, 23 x 33 cm or 33 x 42 cm. Two originals of the plates must be annexed to the application and the patent applicant shall certify that they are identical. The two originals must be signed by the applicant or his representative.
The Central Patent Office may nevertheless accept graphic reproductions or samples of dimensions less than the internal framework laid down in the preceding paragraph, whereby the other provisions shall remain applicable.
2 See Industrial Property Laws and Treaties, ITALY – Text 2001.
The power of attorney shall be deemed a private contract for the purposes of Section 485 of the Penal Code.
The power of attorney must be submitted within a period of two months as from filing of the application.
14. A representative who has submitted a general power of attorney shall have the faculty of referring to that power of attorney in each subsequent patent application he files on behalf of the same client.
Chapter II
Priority Documents
If deposit was made abroad by a third party, the applicant must also prove that he is the successor in title of the original applicant.
The Central Patent Office shall be entitled to require that the translation be checked and certified by the Italian authorities.
Any certificates, including translations, issued by the directors or heads of the offices of the member States of the International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property shall be exempt from legalization and may be replaced by official publications bearing the seal or the certification of the office from which they originate.
The applicant shall be responsible for exact compliance of the abovementioned translations with the originals.
All documents and their translations, submitted in support of a claim for priority, shall be subject to tax stamps in accordance with the relevant provisions.
18bis. In the case of industrial designs, disclosure may only be invoked within the meaning of the second paragraph of Section 15 of Royal Decree No. 1127 of June 29, 1939, as amended, even if it has taken place in official or officially recognized exhibitions other than those referred to by the Paris Convention of November 22, 1928,3 on condition that they have been held on the territory of the State or on that of a foreign State which affords reciprocal treatment.
3 Convention Relating to International Exhibitions, signed at Paris on November 22, 1928 (Editor’s note).
20
21
22
23. The claim to a priority right must be mentioned in the patent application.
The patent is issued, in all cases, without mention of priority if the documents referred to in the first paragraph of Section 15 have not been furnished, in the prescribed form, within six months as from the filing of the application.
If the priority of a deposit made in accordance with the international conventions is refused, the refusal shall also be noted on the patent.
Chapter III
Filing of Applications
24. to 27. [Repealed.]
26
27
Chapter I
Examination and Observations
The provision in the preceding paragraph shall also apply in the event of irregularity in the documents referred to in item (1) of the first paragraph of Section 4 and in the event of irregularity in the title of the model, particularly as regards the claimed characteristics.
[Repealed.]
32
Chapter II
Patent Register and Patents
33. The Register of Industrial Model Patents shall correspond to the Register of Patents for Invention referred to in Section 37 of Royal Decree No. 1127 of June 29, 1939, and shall contain, for each application that has been accepted, the following particulars:
(7) the date of granting of the patent. The fact that fees have been paid, together with the acts concerning industrial model patents which
correspond to acts concerning patents for invention listed in Section 66 of Royal Decree No. 1127 of June 29, 1939, shall also be entered in the Register for each patent.
34. The particulars referred to in the first paragraph of Section 33, above, shall be entered on the patent.
One of the copies of the plates containing the graphic reproduction of the model or the products or the sample of the products, together with copies of any description, shall be annexed to the patent.
35. Payment of the prescribed fees, with the exception of stamp duty, shall be made by postal order drawn up on a special form (1/H) for government fees and concessions, and addressed to the keeper of the Register.
[Repealed.]
37
38
Authorization shall be ex officio where the fees to be refunded concern a patent application which has been definitively refused or an appeal which has been accepted; in all other cases, refund shall be made at the request of the person entitled, drawn up on the prescribed stamped paper and addressed to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts.
Refunds shall be entered in the Patent Register and, where they concern withdrawn or refused applications, in the Register of Applications.
of more than Lire 20,000 a year direct taxation either by entry on the rolls or in the form of deduction at source.
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts may additionally, in all cases, require further information as it deems appropriate to ensure that a state of indigence effectively exists.
Chapter I
Requirement of Secrecy
44
45
Where the prohibition referred to in the preceding paragraph is notified after the models or products have been exhibited, they must be withdrawn, subject to the right of the Ministry of Defense to expropriate them, but without imposing secrecy.
[Repealed.]
Chapter II
Expropriation
Once notification has been made, the expropriated rights shall pass to the expropriating administration which will thus dispose, without other formality, of the faculty to utilize the model, and the obligation, where appropriate, to pay the fee instalment for the second twoyear period required to maintain the patent.
Except where publication of the expropriation and utilization orders, and any subsequent amendments or revocations thereof, could cause prejudice, the Office shall publish a relevant announcement in the Bulletin and shall enter a note in the Patent Register or, where the patent has not yet been granted, in the Register of Applications.
The costs shall be borne by the expropriated person in all cases where the compensation laid down by arbitration is equal to or less than the amount initially proposed by the administration.
Title V
Recording of Acts
57. The request for recording an act or a decision in respect of an industrial model patent, corresponding to an act or decision in respect of patents for inventions referred to in Section 66 of Royal Decree No. 1127 of June 29, 1939, shall be drawn up in duplicate and shall satisfy the conditions laid down by the provisions on stamp duty.
The request shall contain:
Where a representative has been appointed, the powers of attorney or the letter of appointment in due form shall be attached.
59. Entries in the Patent Register shall contain:
(1) the date of submission of the request, which is to be that of the recording;
(2) the surname, forename and domicile of the successor in title or the name and registered offices in the case of a company or a legal person, together with the surname, forename and domicile of the representative, where applicable;
(3) the nature of the rights to which the recording refers.
Title VI
Implementation Procedure
65. Seizure of an industrial model patent shall be effected by act notified to the debtor by a bailiff.
The act shall contain:
Proceeds maturing after the date of notification and deriving from use of the patent shall be added to the proceeds of sale for the purposes of subsequent sharing.
66. Notification of the act of seizure shall be governed by the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure in respect of the serving of summons.
Where the person to whom the act of seizure must be notified has neither domicile nor residence within the country and has no address for service therein, the notification shall be addressed to the Central Patent Office.
In such case, a copy of the act shall be posted on the notice board at the Office and published in the Bulletin.
69. A patent may only be sold after expiry of a minimum of 30 days after seizure.
A period of 20 days must elapse between the date of the order fixing the day of sale and that of the sale itself.
The magistrate [pretore] shall establish the special forms he deems appropriate in each case, taking also measures to have a notification of the sale published, where necessary by derogation from the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Where necessary, the magistrate may order that the notification be posted on the premises of the chambers of commerce and in those of the Central Patent Office and published in the Patent Bulletin.
These latter creditors shall file with the registry of the competent judicial instance in accordance with Section 71 of Royal Decree No. 1127 of June 29, 1939, their requests to participate accompanied by the justifying documents within 15 days prior to the sale.
Any person with an interest therein may examine the applications and the documents.
72. On expiry of the term of 15 days laid down in the second paragraph of the preceding Section, the magistrate, at the request of one of the parties, shall lay down the date of the hearing at which he will propose the order and distribution of the proceeds of sale and possible revenue.
During the hearing, the magistrate shall ensure that the provisions of the preceding Section have been complied with or, in the event of disagreement between the parties concerning the distribution of the proceeds and revenue, shall draw up the order of creditors and the distribution of the proceeds of sale and the revenue in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure concerning enforcement in respect of movable property; where he is not competent in respect of the value, he shall refer the parties to a hearing before a civil court.
Possible or conditional interest shall be claimable in accordance with the Civil Code.
73. The person to whom the patent is adjudicated shall have the right to obtain cancellation of the recordings of guarantee rights in the patent by filing with the Central Patent Office a copy of the record of adjudication and an attestation by the registrar of payment of the price of adjudication, in accordance with the provisions of Section 63 on cancellation of recordings.
74. Industrial model patents may be the subject of seizure even during the grant procedure.
The provisions of the preceding Sections relating to enforcement, together with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure relating to seizure, shall apply to the seizure proceedings where they are not contrary to the provisions of the abovementioned Sections.
75. Litigation in respect of enforcement and seizure of patents shall be heard by the State judicial authority competent by virtue of Section 75 of Royal Decree No. 1127 of June 29, 1939.
Title VII Appeals and Procedure
79. | In | the | cases | referred | to | in | the | second | paragraph | of | Section 35 | and | in | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Section 39 of Royal Decree No. 1127 of June 29, 1939, | the | copies | for | the | opposing | parties | shall | be | |||||||||
communicated to them by registered mail, through the secretariat of the Board. |
The Chairman, or the rapporteur appointed by him, shall fix the time limit, of 90 days at most, for submission of the memoranda and replies by the opposing parties and for filing of the relevant documents.
The provisions of this Section and of the preceding Sections shall apply to the presentation and transmission of those documents.
The appellant may be assisted by a lawyer and by a technical expert.
84. After the opening of the sitting, the rapporteur shall present his report on the appeal.
The parties or their representatives shall then set out their arguments and if the members of the Board so request, the Director of the Office or an official of the Office appointed by the Director to represent him shall supply any requested information and documents.
85. Any interested person may submit to the Board an explanatory memorandum prior to closure of the appeal proceedings.
New elements which may influence the decision arising during the proceedings shall be communicated to the parties.
86. The Board may at any time decide on means of examination as it deems appropriate.
The Board may further, in each case, order adjournment of the decision or even of the examination to a subsequent sitting.
87. The Board shall take its decision once the appellant has retired. The rapporteur, or another member of the Board, shall draw up the decision.
The decision shall be notified by registered letter addressed by the secretariat of the Board to the party concerned or to his representative, where applicable, and its enacting terms shall be published in the Patent Bulletin, subject to the faculty of the Board to order full publication in the Bulletin where the decision concerns a matter of principle and publication cannot be prejudicial.
The appellant may at any time obtain a copy of the decision at his own cost by paying the stamp duty and the clerical expenses.
88. The Minister for Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts may submit for examination by the Board, for its opinion, any matter of principle concerning patents for models and any other matter falling in that field.
The Chairman of the Board may also add to the Board technical experts in addition to those referred to in Section 71 of Royal Decree No. 1127 of June 29, 1939.
Title VIII
Consultation and Publications
Where copies are to be certified as in conformity with the copy made available to the public, the conditions relating to stamp duty must be fulfilled.
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts may decide, however, that the Central Patent Office alone shall be responsible for the copy or the reproduction, including photographic reproduction, of the abovementioned acts and documents, against prior payment of clerical expenses.
The amount of the fees for copying and photographic reproduction work carried out by the Central Patent Office shall be laid down in the same way.
This publication shall comprise the basic information contained, respectively, in the patents and in the requests for recordings.
The Bulletin may also contain either the analytical indexes of models protected by patent or the alphabetical indexes of owners of granted patents; the schedules of plates may also be published therein.
96. The issues of the Bulletin of Patents for Inventions, Models and Marks shall be sent free of charge to the chambers of commerce or solely to those to which they may be particularly useful, and to other bodies entered on the list drawn up by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts.
They shall also be sent, as an exchange, to the patent offices of other States.
Title IX
Provisions Concerning the Italian
Overseas Territories
97. to 101. [Repealed.]
98
99
100
101
Title X
General and Miscellaneous
Chapter I
General Provisions
102. to 104. [Repealed.]
103
104
The two applications must be filed with the same office on the same day.
Chapter II
Miscellaneous
108. The Minister for Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts may establish by order the models on which the applications and other acts relating to industrial model patents shall be drawn up.
Where an application or other act does not conform to the models referred to in the preceding paragraph, the parties concerned shall be required to furnish additional information or explanations as required in relation to such applications or acts.
109. [Repealed.]
110. Until such time as new provisions be adopted, the provisions of Royal Decree No. 2730 of October 23, 1884, and of the Ministerial Decree of May 8, 1914, on the operation of the Central Patent Office in its relations with the public, shall be applicable where they are not contrary to Royal Decree No. 1411 of August 25, 1940, Royal Decree No. 1127 of June 29, 1939, or to these Regulations.
Pending adoption of the Ministerial Decree referred to in Section 94, the provisions currently in force as regards clerical costs and the fees for copying and photographic reproduction work shall continue to apply.
111. [Obsolete.]