Fees associated with filing patent applications in Italy as well as other patent fees are available in the fee calculator.
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Term for filing a patent application in Italy
A patent application claiming conventional priority should be filed within 12 months from the priority date. If the 12-month term is expired, under exceptional circumstances, the priority right may be restored within 2 additional months from the deadline.
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Filing requirements in Italy
The official language of the Italian patent application is Italian. If the application is filed in a language other than Italian, a translation into Italian is to be filed with the Italian Patent Office within two months from the filing date.
To obtain a filing date, it is necessary to provide the Italian Patent and Trademark Office with the following:
- name and address of the applicant;
- description of an invention in any language;
- proof of payment of the corresponding fees.
If priority is claimed, a certified copy of the Priority Document should be submitted within six months from filing the application or within 16 months from the date of earliest priority, whichever expires later. If the priority application is filed in a language other than Italian, a certified Italian translation is also required to be submitted along with it.
The legalisation or notarisation of the Power of Attorney is not required. It may be provided simultaneously or within 2 months from the filing of the Italian patent application.
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Examination of an Italian patent application
The Italian patent application claiming priority undergoes the formal examination only. A patent application first filed in Italy (i.e. which does not claim priority) undergoes both formal and substantive examination. The European Patent Office performs a prior art search and issues a Search Report and a Written Opinion. If the Written Opinion contains objections, a response should be filed before the Italian Patent office for the prosecution of the examination.
Italian patent application may be filed within six months after the disclosure at an international exhibition or when such a disclosure was made in bad faith by any third party. The exhibition must fall within the terms of the 1928 Convention on international exhibitions.
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Grant, validity term and maintenance fees
The official grant fee is not stipulated for the Italian patents. The validity term of Italian patents is 20 years from the filing date. Annual fees are due starting from the 5th year and become payable after grant. If the annual fees become due while the application is still pending, they should be paid within 4 months from the date of grant. All subsequent annual fees should be paid in advance before the last day of the month containing the anniversary of the filing date. Late payment is possible within a grace period of six months by paying a corresponding surcharge. It is possible to pay the annuities in an accumulated manner.
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Duration of registration procedure
It takes an average 2 years from filing up to grant of a patent in Italy.
Inventions may also be protected as Utility Models in Italy. Utility model patents are granted based on the results of formal examination only. Processes, chemical products, biotechnological and computer-related inventions cannot be protected as utility models in Italy. The validity term of the utility model is ten years from the filing date. It takes an average of 1,5 years to register a utility model in Italy.
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Representation by a patent attorney
For foreigners, it is recommended to perform the patent prosecution through an agent, a registered Italian patent attorney.
1. Online Search databases: Italian Patents and Utility Models, European Patents (EPO).
2. Patent registered in Italy via national procedure is valid in San Marino and vice versa.
Brief summary is based on the information provided by Gallo and Partners S.r.l. on 26.06.2024
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with Italian IP Laws