The reform of the Italian IP Code

As to patents, the most relevant changes are the following:

Coexistence between national and European/Unitary Patent (Article 59 IP Code)

The previous rule provided that an Italian patent became ineffective in the case of grant of a European patent for the same invention filed by the same inventor with the same filing or priority date.

The new Article 59 provides for the possible co-existence of an Italian Patent and European/Unitary Patent.

This change is very important because it allows the patentee to enforce the national patent before the Italian Court and/or the European/Unitary Patent before the Unified Patent Court (“UPC”).

However, unlike other EU Countries, the amended Article 59 does not provide any specific mechanism of coordination between the national action and UPC action.

End of “professor’s privilege” (Article 65 IP Code)

The previous rule provided that the researcher is the exclusive owner of the rights to patentable inventions developed in the course of an employment relationship with a university or a public research institution.

The new Article 65 provides that rights to the invention belongs to the entity for which the researcher works, except for the latter's right to be recognised as the author. The inventor must…