• Patent fees

Fees associated with Italian PCT national phase entry as well as other patent fees are available in the fee calculator.

• Deadline for PCT national phase entry in Italy

The time limit for entering the national phase of PCT in Italy is 30-months from the earliest priority date. This term may be restored within 2 months starting from the original 30-months deadline provided that the applicant submits a request for further processing accompanied by payment of the surcharge fees upon the national phase entry in Italy.

• Filing requirements in Italy

The official language of the Italian patent application is Italian. If the patent application is filed in any other foreign language, the Italian translation must be provided within two months from the PCT national phase entry.

To obtain the date of filing, a PCT national phase patent application in Italy should contain:
- applicant(s) and inventor(s) details;
- a copy of the international application;
- proof of payment of the corresponding fees.

The legalisation or notarisation of the Power of Attorney is not required. It may be provided simultaneously or within 2 months from the Italian PCT national phase entry.

No Priority Document is required unless requested by the Office. If the Priority Document is requested, it should be accompanied by its Italian translation.

If the applicant is not the inventor, the Assignment Deed is not required.

• Examination of a PCT national phase patent application in Italy

Patent applications in Italy undergo both formal and substantive examinations. The substantive examination is initiated automatically, but not earlier than 30 months from the international filing date or priority date.

• Novelty grace period

The novelty of the invention is not disproved within 6 months, if it became available to the public at an international exhibition or in case 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.

• 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 international 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 international 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.

• Duration of registration procedure

The average processing time for a patent application in Italy is 2 years.

• Utility Model

In Italy, it is possible to enter the national phase of a PCT application as a utility model. Utility model applications undergo a 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 international filing date. It takes an average of two years to register a utility model in Italy.

• Representation by a patent attorney

For foreigners, it is recommended to perform the patent prosecution through an agent, a registered Italian patent attorney.

• Note

Online Search databases: Italian Patents and Utility Models, European Patents (EPO).

The above information was verified on 31.01.2024
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with Italian IP Laws