The law, which has the overall objective of enhancing and promoting, in Italy and abroad, productions of excellence, cultural heritage and national cultural roots, also contains several novelties regarding intellectual property rights.
The law restores the so-called. Voucher 3i, namely an economic incentive (already used in the past by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development) aimed at facilitating innovative start-ups in the purchase of consulting services for verifying the patentability of an innovation and obtaining patents in Italy and abroad. The new edition of Voucher 3i will be extended not only to innovative start-ups but also to microenterprises.
The new provisions authorize funding for Voucher 3i with 9 million euros in total for the two-year period 2023-2024. The criteria and implementation modalities of the new Voucher 3i will be defined by a decree of the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, in consultation with the Minister of Economy and Finance.
This novelty concerns businesses that have been owners or licensees of a trademark registered for at least 50 years, or for which continuous use can be demonstrated for at least 50 years: if a business with these characteristics intends to permanently cease operations, it will have to notify the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy in advance.
The new law also establishes a repertoire of the works of digital creators (defined as “artists who develop original works with high digital content”) in order to protect their rights. The repertoire will be established within the general public register of protected works under Article 103 of the Copyright Law.
The law contains several provisions aimed at combating counterfeiting, including measures to improve the specialized training of legal practitioners and toughen administrative penalties for the purchase and import of counterfeit goods; it also amends a number of existing laws, including criminal laws, concerning the sale of industrial products with false signs, the destruction of seized counterfeit goods, and the suppression of counterfeiting.
(https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2023/12/27/23G00221/sg)