Legislative Decree No 95 of 2 February 2001.  
Implementation of Directive 98/71/EC on the legal protection of designs.  
THE PRESI DENT OF THE REPUBLIC  
Having regard to Articles 76 and 87 of the Constitution;  
Having regard to Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 
1998 on the legal protection of designs;  
Having regard to Law No 526 of 21 Decembe r 1999, Community law 1999, and in particular Articles 
1 and 2 thereof and Annex A thereto,  
Having regard to Chapter III of Title IX of Book V of the Civil Code;  
Having REGARD TO Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940 laying down legislative provisions on 
patents for industrial models and subsequent amendments;  
Having REGARD TO Law No 633 of 22 April 1941 laying down provisions for the protection of 
copyright and o ther rights related to its exercise, as amended;  
Having regard to Law No 266 of 7 August 1997, and in particular Article 27(2) thereof;  
Having REGARD TO the deliberation of the Council of Ministers adopted at its meeting on 2 February 
2001;  
On the proposal from the Minister for Community Policy and the Minister for Industry, Trade, Crafts 
and External Trade, in agreement with the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Justice, the Treasury, the 
Budget and Economic Planning, Finance and Cultural Asset s; 
EMANATES  
the following legislative decree:  
TITLE I 
Amendments to Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940 laying down legislative provisions on patents 
for industrial models.  
Article 1,  
1. Article 5 of Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940 is replaced by th e following:  
‘Article 5. — 1. Designs which are new and of an individual character may be registered.  
2. A design means the appearance of the product itself or part thereof as it results, in particular , 
from the characteristics of the lines, contours, colour s, shape, surface structure and/or materials of 
the product itself and/or its ornamentation.  
3. A product means any industrial or artisanal object, including, inter alia, components which must 
be combined to form a complex product, packaging, presentations, g raphic symbols and typefaces, 
excluding computer programs.  
4. A complex product means a product made from several components which can be replaced, 
allowing for disassembly and reassembly of the product.’  
Article 2.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, the following is inserted after Article 5:  
‘Article 5 -bis.  — 1. A design shall be new if no identical design has been disclosed before the date 
of filing of the application for registration or, where priority is claimed, before the date of the 
application for registration. Designs shall be deemed to be identical where their characteristics differ 
only in vantious details.’  
Article 3.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, the following is inserted after Art icle 5-bis: 
‘Article 5 -ter.  — 1. A design shall have an individual character if the overall impression which it  
gives in the informed user differs from the gene impression created on that user by any design which 
has been disclosed before the date on whic h the application for registration was submitted or, where 
priority is claimed, before the date on which the application for registration was submitted.  
2. When determining the individual character referred to in paragraph 1, account shall be taken of 
the deg ree of freedom enjoyed by the designer in creating the design.’  
Article 4.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, the following is inserted after Article 5-ter: 
‘Article 5 -quater.  — 1. For the purposes of Articles 5-a and 5-b, a design shall be deemed  to have 
been disclosed if it has been made available to the public by registration or otherwise, or if it has been 
exhibited, marketed or otherwise made public, unless such events could reasonably have been known 
to the specialised circles of the sector c oncerned operating in the Community in the normal course of 
business before the date of submission of the application for registration or, where priority is claimed, 
before the date of the application for registration.  
2. The design shall not be regarded as b eing made accessible to the public solely on the ground that 
it has been disclosed to a third party under an explicit or implicit restriction of confidentiality.  
3. For the purposes of Articles 5-a and 5-b, a design shall not be deemed to be made available to  
the public by the designer or his successor in title or by any third party by virtue of information or acts 
carried out by the author or his successor in title during the 12 months preceding the date of 
submission of the application for registration or, w here priority is claimed, during the 12 months 
preceding that date.  
4. For the purposes of applying Articles 5-bis and 5 - ter, it shall also not constitute disclosure if the 
disembly or model has been made available to the public during the 12 months precedin g the date of 
submission of the application or the date of priority, if this results, directly or indirectly, from an abuse 
committed against the author or his successor in title.’  
Art. 5.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, the following is inserted after Article 5 -quater : 
‘Article 5 -quinquies.  1. The design applied or incorporated into the component part of a complex 
product fulfils the requirements of novelty and individual charac ter only:  
a) if the component, once incorporated into the complex product, remains visible during normal 
use, i.e. during use by the final consumer, excluding maintenance , servicing and repair, and  
b) if the visible characteristics of the component in themselve s meet the requirements of novelty 
andindividual duality.’  
Article 6.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, Article 6 is replaced by the following:  
‘Article 6. — 1. A single application may be applied for registration in respect of no more than one 
hundred designs provided that they are intended to be implemented or incorporated into objects 
included in the same class as the International Design Classification, formed in accordance with the 
provisions of the Locarno Agreement of 8 October 1968, as sub sequently amended, ratified by Law 
No 348 of 22 May 1974.  
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 1 and Article 8, an application for several 
registrations or for one registration for several models shall not be allowed. If the application is not 
admissible, the Patent and Trade Mark Office shall, pursua nt to and for the purposes of Article 29 of 
Royal Decree No 1127 of 29 June 1939, as amended, invite the person concerned to limit the 
application to the eligible party.  
3. The registration of several models or designs within the meaning of this Article may b e restricted 
at the request of the proprietor pursuant to and for the purposes of Article 59-quater  of Royal Decree 
No 1127 of 29 June 1939, as amended.  
4. Registration in respect of a design which does not meet the requirements for validity may, at 
the reque st of the holder, take place in an amended form if the design retains its identity and fulfils 
the conditions of validity in that form. The amendment may also result from a partial waiver by the 
holder or from the entry on the certificate of the right to a  judgment declaring the registration in part 
invalid.’   
Art. 7.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, Article 7 is replaced by the following:  
‘Article 7. — 1. Exclusive rights to designs shall be granted by registration.  
2. The right to registration lies with the designer and its successors in title.  
3. Unless otherwise agreed, registration of designs, whether by employees, as part of their duties, 
is the responsibility of the employer, without prejudice to the right of the employee to be recognised 
as the author of the design and to have his name included in the certificate of registration.  
4. Where a judgment which has the force of res judicata establis hes that the right to registration 
of the design rests with a person other than the person submitting the application, that person may, if 
the registration has not yet been made and within three months of the date of res judicata of the 
judgment, at his ch oice:  
a) to take up the application for registration in his own name and to take up the status of 
applicant in full;  
b) to lodge a new application for registration which runs from the date of filing or priority of the 
initial application which ceases to have eff ect; 
c) the application should be rejected.  
5. If the registration was made in the name of a person other than the entitled person, he or she 
may choose to:  
a) obtain by judgment, with retroactive effect , the transfer on his behalf of the certificate of -
registration;  
b) to invoke the nullity of the effective registration in the name of those who were not entitled 
to it.’  
Art. 8.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, the following is inserted after Artic le 7:  
‘Article 7a.  — 1. It is not possible to register as a design any characteristic of the appearance of the 
product which is determined by the technical function of the product.  
2. The characteristics of the appearance of the product which must necessaril y be reproduced in 
their exact shapes and dimensions in order to be able to consent to the product in which the design is 
incorporated or to which it is applied to be merged or mechanically connected with, or be incorporated 
into, or around or in contact w ith the product in such a way that each product can fulfil its function, 
may not be registered by design. However, designs which meet the requirements of novelty and 
individual character may be registered where they are intended to permit the combination o r multiple 
connection of interchangeable products in a modular system.’  
Art. 9.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, Article 8 is replaced by the following:  
‘Article 8. — 1. If a design is registrable within the meaning of Article 5 and at the same t ime 
increases the usefulness of the object to which it relates, a utility design patent and design registration 
may be applied for at the same time, but both protection cannot be combined under one title.  
2. If the application for registration includes an obj ect the shape or design of which confers on it a 
new and individual character and at the same time increases its usefulness, Article 29 of Royal Decree 
No 1127 of 29 June 1939, as amended, shall apply.’  
Article 10.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, the following is inserted after Article 8:  
“Art. i -bis.  — 1. The registration of a design shall confer on the holder the exclusive right to use it 
and to prohibit third parties from using it without his consent.  
2. In particular, the manufacture, offer, marketing, import, export or use of a product in which the 
design is incorporated or to which it is applied, or the possession of such a product for such purposes,  
shall constitute acts of use.  
3. The rights conferred by  the registration of the design shall not extend to:  
a) acts carried out in the private sphere and for non -commercial purposes;  
b) acts carried out for the purpose of testing;  
c) acts of reproduction necessary for quotations or for educational purposes, provided th at they 
are compatible with the principles of professional correctness, do not unduly prejudice the normal use 
of the design and indicate the source.  
4. The exclusive rights conferred by the registration of the design shall not be exercised in respect 
of: 
a) the furnishing and installations of vessels and aircraft registered in other countries temporarily 
entering the territory of the State;  
b) the importation into the State of pieces of bio-embroideries and accessories intended for the 
repair of the means of transport referred to in point ( a); 
c) the execution of repairs on the abovementioned means of transport.’  
Art. 11.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, the following is inserted after Article i-bis: 
“Art. i -ter. The  exclusive rights conferred by the design design shall extend to any design which does 
not produce a different overall impression in the informed user.  
2. In determining the extent of protection, account shall be taken of  the author’s margin of 
freedom in the design of the design.’  
Art. 12.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, the following is inserted after Article i-ter: 
“Art. i -quater. — The rights conferred by registration by a design shall not extend to acts  relating 
to goods in which a registered design falling within the scope of their protection is incorporated or 
applied, where the products themselves have been put on the market in the Community by the holder 
of the design or with its meaning.’  
Art. 13.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, the following is inserted after Article i-quater : 
“Art. ^-quinquies. — 1. In the event of refusal of the registration of a design or of a declaration of 
invalidity of the registration of a design, pursuant to A rticle i-sexies,  the design may be registered or 
maintained in an amended form if in that form it satisfies the conditions for protection and its identity 
is maintained. The registration or maintenance in an amended form may include registration 
accompanie d by partial surrender by the holder of the design or registration in the register of designs 
of the judgment declaring the right to the design or design to be partially invalid.’  
Art. 14.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, the following is inserted after Article %  -quinquies:  
“Art. i -sexies. — 1. The registration is void:  
a) if the design is not registrable in accordance with Articles 5, 5-a, 5-ter, 5 -quater, 5 -quinquies, 
7 and 8;  
b) if the design is contrary to public policy or to morality;  
c) if the holder of the registration was not entitled to obtain it and the author did not make use 
of the right to request the transfer on his behalf of the certificate of registration;  
d) if the design con flicts with an earlier design which has been made known after the date of 
submission of the application or, where priority is claimed, after the date of the application but the 
exclusive right of which takes effect from an earlier date as a result of Commu nity or national  
registration or as a result of the relevant application;  
e) if the design is such that its use would constitute an infringement of a distinctive sign or a 
work of the intellectual protected by copyright;  
f) if the design constitutes an improper use of one of the elements listed in Article b-ter of the 
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, or of signs, emblems and coat of arms other 
than those referred to in that article and which are of particular public interest in the Stat e.’ 
Art. 15.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, the following is inserted after Article ^  -sexies:  
“Art. i -septies. — 1. The invalidity of the registration effected in breach of Article 7 may be invoked 
only by the person entitled.  
2. The invalidity of the registration of a design which is the subject of earlier rights may be brought 
solely by the holder of those rights or his successors in title.  
3. The invalidity of the registration of a design which constitutes an improper use of one of the 
elements listed in Article 6b  of the Paris Convention or of signs, emblems and coat of arms which are 
of particular public interest in t he State may be relied on only by the person concerned.’  
Art. 16.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, Article 9 is replaced by the following:  
‘Article 9. — 1. The utility model patent lasts ten years from the date of submission of the 
application . 
7 Tu rftai" tr7years  /Tura Nin — 
those years from the date of submission of the application. The holder may be extended for one or 
more periods of five years up to a maximum of 25 years from the date of submission of the application 
for registration.’  
Art. 17.  
1. The following paragraph is added to Article 10 of Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940:  
‘The provisions of Article 21-ter of Royal Decree No 1127 of 29 June 1939, as amended, shall not 
apply to applications for registration of designs.’  
Art. 18.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, Article 11 is replaced by the following:  
‘Article 11. — 1. Utility model patents are sub ject to the following fees:  
a) application fee;  
b) concession fee.  
2. Design registrations are subject to the following fees:  
a) application fee;  
b) five-year concession fee;  
c) five-year extension fee.  
3. The tariff annexed to Presidential Decree No 641 of 26 October 1972, as amended, shall indicate 
the amount of the fees provided for in that decree.’  
Art. 19.  
1. In Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, Article 12 is replaced by the following:  
‘Article 12. — 1. The grant fee for utility model patents can be paid either in a single solution, or in 
two quinquennal instalments.  
2. The grant and extension fee for textile designs may be paid in annual instalments.’   
Art. 20.  
1. All normative expressions, also contained i n regulations, which refer to ‘patents for ornamental 
models’ or ‘patent applications for ornamental models’ shall be deemed to be replaced by ‘ design 
registers’ or ‘application for registration of designs’.  
TITLE II 
Amendments to the Civil Code  
Art. 21.  
2. The heading of Chapter III of Title IX of Book V of the Civil Code is replaced by the following: ‘The 
patent right for utility models and registration rights for designs’.  3. Article 2593 of the Civil Code is replaced bythe following:    
‘Article 2593 (Models and drawings). Any  person who has obtained a registration for a new design 
of an individual character shall have the exclusive right to use it and to prohibit third parties from using 
it without his consent, in accordance with special  laws.’  
4. Article 2594 of the Civil Code is replaced by the following:  
‘Article 2594 (Applicable rules). Articles 2588, 2589 and 2590 shall apply to the  rights of breeches 
and registrations provided for in this Chapter. The conditions and arrangements for gr anting the 
patent and registration, the exercise of the rights deriving therefrom and their duration shall be 
governed by special laws.’  
TITLE III 
Amendments to Law No 633 of 22 April 1941 on the protection of copyright and other rights related to 
its exer cise.  
Art. 22.  
1. In Article 2(1) of Law No 633 of 22 April 1941, the following amendments are made:  
a) in point (4), the following sentence is deleted: ‘even if they are applied to industry, provided 
that their artistic value is separable from the industrial ch aracter of the product to which they are 
associated’;  
b) the following shall be added after point 9: “10) Works of industrial design which in themselves 
have a creative character and artistic value.”.  
Art. 23.  
1. The following is inserted after Article 12 -tó of Law No 633 of 22 April 1941:  
‘Article 12 -ter.  — Unless otherwise agreed, where an industrial design work is created by the 
employee in the performance of his duties, the employer shall have exclusive rig hts of economic use 
of the work.’  
TITLE IV 
Transitional and final provisions  
Art. 24.  
1. Patent applications for an ornamental design and applications for transcription filed before the 
date of entry into force of this decree shall be dealt with in accorda nce with the provisions contained 
therein. However, as regards formal regularity, they are subject to the previous rules.  
Art. 25.  
1. Patents for ornamental designs which cease before the date of entry into force of this decree,  
provided that they have not ex pired or expired on the date of entry into force of this decree, may be 
extended up to a maximum of 25 years from the date of filing of the patent application.  
2. The concession fees paid in a single solution apply to the first two extensions.  
Art. 26.  
1. Pat ents for ornamental designs which ceased before the date of entry into force of this decree 
are subject, in so far as the grounds for invalidity, the earlier legal provisions and the effects of the 
declaration of invalidity to the rule referred to in Artic le 59-bis of Royal Decree No 1127 of 29 June 
1939.  
Art. 27.  
1. Until Directive 98/71/EC on the legal protection of designs is amended on a proposal from the 
Commission pursuant to Article 18 of the Medeima Directive, exclusive rights to the components of a 
complex product may not be invoked to prevent the manufacture and sale of the components for the 
repair of the complex product in order to restore its original appearance.  
2. The implementation of this Decree shall not result in new or increased burdens borne by the 
State budget.  
This decree, bearing the seal of the State, shall be included in the Official Collection of Standard 
Acts of the Italian Republic. It is the duty of t hose who are responsible to observe it and to make it 
observed.  
Given in Rome, 2 February 2001  
CIAMPI  
BELOVED , President of the Council of Ministers  
MATTIOLI , Minister for Community Policies  
READ, Minister for Industry, Trade and Crafts and Trade with Fore ign Affairs  
DINI, Minister for Foreign Affairs  
FASSINO , Minister for Justice  
Mr Visco, Minister for the Treasury, Budget and Economic Programme  
DEL TURCO , Minister for Finance  
MELANDRI , Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities  
See, 17 Seals: FASSINO  
NOTES  
WARNING : 
The text of the notes published here was drawn up by the competent authority in accordance with Article 10(2) and (3) of the 
consolidated text of the provisions on the promulgation of laws, on the implementation of the decrees of the Preside nt of the 
Republic and on official publications of the Italian Republic, approved by Presidential Decree No 1092 of 28 December 1985, for the 
sole purpose of facilitating the reading of the legal provisions amended or to which the reference is made. The va lue and 
effectiveness of the legislative acts transcribed here remain unchanged.  
For EEC Directives, the publication reference is given in the Official Journal of the European Communities (OJEC).  
Notes to the premises:  
Article 76 of the Constitution provid es that the exercise of the legislative function  may  only be delegated to the Government 
with the determination of guiding principles and criteria and only for a limited period of time and for defined purposes.  
Article 87 of the Constitution confers, inte r alia, on the President of the Republic the power to enact laws and to enact decrees 
having the force of law and regulations.  
Directive 98/71/EC is published in OJ L  289 of 28 October 1998.   
— Law No 526 of 21 December 1999 states: ‘Provisions for the loss of obligations arising from Italy’s membership of the 
European Communities — 1999 Community Law’. Article 1 of Law No 526 of 21 December 1999 provides:  
‘Article 1. (Delegation to the Government for the implementation of Community directives).  — 1. The Gov ernment is empowered 
to issue, within one year of the date of entry into force of this Law, the legislative decrees laying down the rules necessary to 
implement the directives included in the lists in Annexes A and B.  
2. The healthy legislative decrees adopte d, in compliance with Article 14 of Law No 400 of 23 August 1988, on a proposal from 
the President of the Council of Ministers or the Minister for Community Policies and the Minister with primary institutional 
competence in this field, in agreement with th e Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Justice and Treasury, budgets and economic planning 
and with the other Ministers concerned with regard to the subject -matter of the Directive.  
3. The draft legislative decrees implementing the directives listed in Annex B shall be forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies 
and the Senate of the Republic for their opinions within 40 days of the date of transmission to the Chamber of Deputies and the 
Senate within 40 days of the date of transmission. after that period, the decrees were  issued even in the absence of that opinion. If 
the period laid down for the Commission’s opinion expires within 30 days of the expiry of the time -limits laid down in paragraph 1 
or later, the latter shall be extended by 90 days.  
4. Within two years of the date of entry into force of this Law, in compliance with the guiding principles and criteria laid dow n 
by it, the Government may, in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraphs 2 and 3, adopt supplementary and corrective  
provisions to the legislative decrees issued pursuant to paragraph 1.  
5. The deadline for exercising the delegation for the implementation of Directive 97/5/EC shall be six months.’  
Article 2 of that law provides:  
‘Article 2 (General criteria and guiding princip les for the legislative delegation). — 1. Without prejudice to the specific guiding 
principles and criteria laid down in the following Articles and in addition to those contained in the directives to be implem ented, the 
legislative decrees referred to in A rticle 1 will be informed of the following general principles and criteria:  
a) the administrations directly concerned will implement the legislative decrees with the ordinary administrative structures;  
b) in order to avoid confusion with the existing disciplines  for the individual sectors covered by the legislation to be 
implemented, the necessary amendments or additions to those disciplines will be introduced;  
c) without prejudice to the application of the criminal rules in force, where necessary to ensure complian ce with the 
provisions of the legislative decrees, administrative and panal sanctions will be provided for infringements of the provision s of the 
decrees. Criminal penalties, within the limits, respectively, of a fine of up to ITL 200 million and of the remainder of up to three years, 
will be provided for, alternatively or jointly, only in cases where the infringements affect or expose the general interests of national 
law to danger. In such cases, provision will be made for: the penalty of an alternative f ine to arrest for infringements which endanger 
or harm the protected interest; the penalty of arrest in conjunction with that of the fine for infringements which cause particularly 
serious harm. This is without prejudice to the provision of alternative pen alties or substitutes for the custodial sentence referred to 
in Article 10(1)(  a) of Law No 205 of 25 June 1999. The administrative penalty for payment of a sum not less than ITL 50  000 and not 
exceeding ITL 200 million will be provided for infringements a ffecting or endangering interests other than those mentioned above. 
Within the minimum and maximum limits set out above , the penalties set out above will be determined in their scale, taking into 
account the different potential detrimental to the protecte d interest that each infringement has in the abstract, of specific qualities 
forthe offender’s members, including those imposing particular duties of prevention, control or supervision, and of the financia l 
advantage that the infringement may bring to the  culprit or to the person or entity in whose interest he is acting. In any event, by 
way of derogation from the limits set out above, for infringements of the provisions of the legislative decrees, criminal or 
administrative penalties will be provided for the same as those already imposed by the laws in force for infringements which are 
homogeneous and equally offensive with respect to misconduct;  
d) any expenditure which is not covered by the laws in force and which does not relate to the ordinary activity of  the State or 
regional authorities may be provided only within the limits necessary for the fulfilment of the obligations to implement the directives; 
in so far as it is not possible to meet the funds already allocated to the competent authorities, the re levant cover will be extended 
to grandmother under Articles 5 and 21 of Law No 183 of 16 April 1987, also observing the provisions of Article li -ter(2) of Law No 
468 of 5 August 1978, introduced by Article 7 of Law No 362 of 23 August 1988;  
e) the implementation of directives amending earlier directives already implemented by law or legislative decree shall be 
carried out, if the amendment does not entail an extension of the regulated matter, by making the corresponding amendments to  
the law or legislative decree implementing the amended directive;  
f) the legislative decrees will in any event ensure that, in the areas covered by the directives to be implemented, the rules 
laid down are fully in line with the requirements of the directives, taking into account any changes which may be made, until the 
exercise of the delegation;  
g) Article 9 of Law No 86 of 9 March 1989, the first paragraph of Article 6 of Presidential Decree No 616 of 24 July 1977 and 
Article 2 of Legislative Decree No 112 of 31 March 1998 will be complied with in matters falling within the competence of the regions 
with special statutes and the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano.  
— . In implementing Community legislation, the costs of pre -stations and controls to be carried out by public offices in -
application of those regulations sha ll be borne by the parties concerned in relation to the actual cost of the service, if this does not 
conflict with Community rules. The tariffs referred to in the preceding period shall be predetermined and public.  
— Annex A to Law No 526/1999 lists the dire ctives to be implemented by Legislative Decree.  
— Chapter III of Title IX of Book V of the Civil Code shall contain: ‘Patent law ner utility models and mental models and designs’.  
— Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940 states: “Text of the legislative provis ions on patents for industrial models”.  
— Law No 633 of 22 April 1941 states: ‘Protection of copyright and other rights related to its exercise’.  
— Law No 226 of 7 August 1997 states: “Urgent action for the economy”. Paragraph 2 of Article 27 of that law p rovides:   
‘2. The term of legal protection of copyright in respect of works of industrial design, within the meaning of Royal Decree No  
1411 of 25 August 1940, may not exceed 15 years until the Community directive on the patentability of industrial designs has been 
transposed.’  
Note to Article 1:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 2:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 3:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 4:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see n otes to the premises.  
Note to Article 5:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 6:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
— Law No 348 of 22 May 1974 states: ‘Ratification and implementation of the Agreement establishing an International 
Classification of Industrial Designs, signed at Locamo on 8 October 1968’.  
— Royal Decree No 1127 of 29 June 1939 states: ‘Text of the legislative provisions on patents for ind ustrial inventions’. Article 
29 of the Royal Decree provides:  
‘Article 29 (Article 26(1) and (2) of Royal Decree No 1602) of 13 September 1934. — Each application must have as its object 
only one invention.  
If the application includes several inventions, t he Central Patent Office will invite the person concerned, with a time limit, to 
limit the application to a single invention, with the right to submit, in respect of the remaining inventions, as many applic ations, 
which shall take effect from the date of t he original application.  
Appeals to the Board laid down in that decree shall suspend the time -limit set by the office.’  
Article 59-quater  of the Royal Decree of 29 June 1939 provides:  
‘Article 59 -quater.  — The patent may be limited at the request of the p roprietor to whom the description and the modified 
drawings must be joined.  
If the office accepts the application, the applicant will have to pay the fee referred to in point (3) of Article 44 again if  the 
original patent has already been printed.  
An appli cation for limitation may not be granted if a patent invalidity judgment is pending and the relevant judgment has 
become final. Nor can it be accepted in the absence of the consent of the persons referred to in Article 59-ter(2).  
The Office shall publish i n the bulletin the notice of the limitation of the patent.’  
Note to Article 7:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 8:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see footnotes to the premises.  
Note to Article 9:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
— As regards Article 29 of Royal Decree No 1127/1939, see footnotes to Ar ticle 6.  
Note to Article 10:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 11:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 12:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 13:   
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 14:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see  notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 15:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 16:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Note to Article 17:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
— The text of Article 10 of Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, as amended by this Decree, reads as follows:  
‘Article 10. — The Central Patent Office shall make available t o the public the utility model application with a description and 
any drawings or samples, in accordance with Article 4 of Royal Decree No 1127 of 29 June 1939, as amended.  
The Central Patent Office shall make available to the public the application for an  ornamental design with reproductions or 
samples and any descriptions after filing, provided that the applicant has not excluded accessibility in the application for a period 
not exceeding 12 months from the date of filing or the date of priority.  
In cases  where, in the preceding paragraphs, the Central Patent Office fails to publish in print as referred to in the second 
paragraph of Article 38 of Royal Decree No 1127 of 29 June 1939, as amended.  
Theprovisions of Article 27 -ter of Royal Decree No 1127 of 2 9 June 1939, as amended, shall not apply to applications for 
registration of designs.’  
Article 27-ter of Royal Decree No 1127 of 29 June 1939 provides:  
‘Article 27 -ter. — If the persons referred to in the preceding article reside in the territory of the S tate, they may not, without 
the authorisation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, lodge their applications for patents with the offices of foreign States or lodge 
them with those offices before six days have elapsed from the date of filing in Italy, or those of filing an application for authorisation.  
The Ministry provides for authorisation applications, after hearing that of the defence. After the sixty -day period without a 
refusal, the authorisation must be deemed to have been granted.  
Unless the act c onstitutes a more serious offence, the infringement of the provisions of the first subparagraph shall be 
punishable by a fine of not less than ITL 150  000 or by arrest.  
If the infringement is committed when the authorisation has been refused, the arrest sh all apply to an extent of not less than 
one year.  
Notes to Article 18:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
— Decree No 641 of the President of the Republic of 26 October 1972 states: “Rule of taxes on government conc essions”.  
Note to Article 19:  
— As regards Royal Decree No 1411 of 25 August 1940, see notes to the premises.  
Notes to Article 22:  
— Law No 633 of 22 April 1941 states: ‘Protection of copyright and other related rights in its exercise’. The current wording 
of Article 2(1) of the abovementioned Law, as amended by this paragraph, reads as follows:  
— Article 2. — In particular, the following  are included in the protection:  
1) literary, dramatic, scientific, didactic, religious works, whether in written or oral form;  
2) musical works and compositions, with or without words, dramatic -musical works and musical variations constituting, in 
themselves, a n original work;  
3) choreographic and pantomimic works, of which the track is recorded in writing or otherwise;  
4) works of sculpture, painting, drawing, engraving and similar figurative arts, including scenography;  
5) drawings and works of architecture;  
6) works of c inematographic art, whether mute or sound, provided that they are not merely protected documents within 
the meaning of Chapter Five of Title II;  
7) photographic works and those expressed by a process similar to that of photography, provided that it is not mer ely a 
photograph protected within the meaning of Chapter V of Title II;  
8) computer programs, in any form expressed as original as the result of intellectual creation of the author. The ideas and 
principles underlying any element of a programme, including those underlying its interfaces, are excluded from the protection  
afforded by this Law. The term programme also includes preparatory material for the design of the programme.  
9) The databases referred to in the second paragraph of Article 1, understood as collections of works, data or other 
independent elements systematically or met hodically arranged and individually accessible by electronic or other means. The 
protection of databases does not extend to their content and is without prejudice to existing rights over such content.   
10) works of industrial design that in themselves have a cr eative character and artistic value.  
Note to Article 23:  
— For Law No 633 of 22 April 1941, see notes to Article 22.  
Note to Article 26:  
— For Royal Decree No 1127 of 29 June 1939, see footnotes to Article 6. Article 59-bis of the Royal Decree provides:  
‘Artic le 59 -bis.  — The declaration of invalidity of the patent shall have retroactive effect, but shall not affect:  
a) acts of enforcement of judgments of infringement which have become res judicata;  
b) contracts for invention concluded before the judgment declaring null and void in so far as they have already been 
executed. In such a case, however, the court may, having regard to the circumstances, grant a fair refund of sums already paid in 
performance of the contract.’  
Note to Article 27:  
As far as Directive 98/71/EC is concerned, see footnotes.  
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