Area · Businesses and professionals
Intellectual property
Protect what you create — trademark, works, content, software — and govern its use with clear contracts. Out-of-court advice for businesses, creatives and professionals.
What we do
Protect what you create
Trademarks
Advice on choosing, clearing and protecting a trademark, and support with registration before the competent offices (UIBM, EUIPO).
Copyright and content
Protection of works, texts, images and digital content: ownership, permitted uses, rights management.
Licences and assignments
Licence, assignment and exploitation agreements: who can do what, for how long, on what terms.
Software and technology
Software development, SaaS and end-user licence contracts, with attention to code ownership, open source and data.
Our work is strictly out-of-court: opinions, contracts and support with registration filings. We don’t handle infringement litigation or representation in court; for those we refer you to qualified professionals.
- You are about to launch a brand or product in Italy or the wider EU and want to know whether the name is available and registrable — before investing in logo, packaging, domain and a market entry.
- You run a business abroad and have discovered someone in Italy using a name confusingly similar to yours, or copying your content — or you have received a complaint yourself — and you want to know what can be done out of court.
- You are commissioning software, a website or a logo to an Italian agency or freelancer, and the contract says nothing about who ends up owning the code, the graphics and the source files.
- You want to license your software, course, format or trademark to Italian or EU partners, and you need a contract that pins down permitted uses, territory, duration and fees under the law that will actually govern it.
- Your product incorporates open-source components, fonts, images or third-party content, and you want the licences verified before it goes live in the European market.
A written registrability report with the outcome of the prior-rights searches and a filing strategy — which classes, and whether to file in Italy (UIBM), for the whole EU (EUIPO) or beyond; then hands-on support with the filing itself. Licence, assignment and development contracts arrive ready for signature, and opinions on ownership and permitted uses come in writing, with verified references. With every filing, a reminder schedule of the deadlines that matter — renewals, opposition windows, proof-of-use dates.
How it works
The path, in three steps
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Search and strategy
We analyse the sign or work you want to protect: prior-rights searches for identical or similar marks, selection of the goods-and-services classes, and the Italy / EU / beyond decision — one EU trade mark covers all 27 Member States, but it isn't always the right first move. The outcome is a written report with the recommended strategy and the official fees involved.
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Filing or contract
We prepare the application and support you through the procedure before UIBM (the Italian Patent and Trademark Office) or EUIPO — or we draft the licence, assignment or development contract with the clauses that decide disputes later: exclusivity, territory, duration, fees, ownership of deliverables. Every text comes with the choices explained in plain English.
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Managing rights over time
After the filing you receive the complete dossier, with renewal deadlines and guidance on using the mark correctly — an EU or Italian trademark can be revoked if not genuinely used for five years. We remain available to watch for conflicting new applications and to update your contracts as the business grows into new markets.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- Can I file a trademark myself, or do I need a representative?
- Before the Italian office (UIBM) no representation is required. At EUIPO, a business based outside the European Economic Area may file the application directly but must appoint an authorised representative for any subsequent proceedings, such as an opposition. We support the application filed in your name and, where a qualified representative is required, we coordinate with a trusted one — so the strategy stays consistent.
- Should I register in Italy or for the whole EU?
- An EU trade mark gives protection in all 27 Member States with a single filing, starting from EUR 850 in official fees for one class; an Italian national filing is cheaper (roughly EUR 100–200 in official fees, depending on classes) and can make sense if Italy is your only target market or as a fallback. The registrability report weighs both routes for your specific sign, including the risk that a conflict in one EU country sinks the entire EU application.
- Does copyright need to be registered in Italy?
- No: under Italian Copyright Law (Law 633/1941) the right arises when the work is created, with no mandatory deposit. The practical problem is proving who created it and when — so we advise on establishing a certain date (voluntary deposit, timestamping) and, above all, on regulating by contract the ownership of commissioned works, which is where most cross-border disputes are actually won or lost.
- How long does trademark protection last, and what does the process cost overall?
- Ten years from filing, renewable indefinitely for equal periods — subject to genuine use, since five years of non-use exposes the mark to revocation. On costs: official fees as above, plus our fee, agreed in writing before the engagement based on the search and strategy work required. A straightforward filing is measured in weeks; registration itself takes several months, during which you can already use the mark.
- Someone in Italy is copying my brand or content: can you take them to court?
- Court action is outside our scope — but the out-of-court route resolves many cases: we verify whether there is a real infringement, prepare the communications to the other party and the notices to platforms (for online content, takedown procedures are often decisive), and support the negotiation. If infringement proceedings become necessary, we refer you to qualified professionals and hand over a file that is already documented.
Insights
Related insights
Contact
A trademark to protect, a contract to write?
Tell us what you want to protect: we’ll tell you how to move, with clear timing and fee.
First reply within one business day. The first contact is free and carries no obligation.