Patents provide protection
The application can be filed at the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (UIBM).
To file an Italian patent application, it is necessary to attach a description of the invention, the claims, and the related technical drawings.
The first thing that must emerge from the description is the technical improvement the invention aims to achieve and the advantages resulting from it; this is then followed by the description of the various technical components.
The critical part of a patent application are the claims, which must specify and describe, with appropriate technical terminology, the components of the invention for which protection is requested. Anything not included in the claims of the application will not be protected by the patent. The technical drawings referred to in the description must also show the technical improvements introduced by the invention.
Once the application together with all the aforementioned documents and information has been filed and the related fees paid to the Italian Trademark and Patent Office (UIBM), the patent application is assigned a filing number and a corresponding filing date. At this point, the European Patent Office (EPO) carries out a prior art search on behalf of the Italian Patent Office and communicates the results to the latter, which in turn informs the patent applicant accordingly within 9 months from the filing date. If the UIBM deems the patent acceptable, it grants it by assigning a patent number and a patent grant date.
Relevant regulation: Italian Legislative Decree no. 30 of 10 February 2005 (Industrial Property Code)
