Blog
Welcome to our blog.
Looking for something specific?
Enter your keywords in the searchbar below.
1 minute Martini Manna
Patent infringement and product families: the scope of claims, reach of injunction and extent of damages according to the IP Court of Milan
A recent ruling of the Milan IP Court in a patent litigation (which we already examined from a different perspective here) contains some interesting statements on the scope of infringement claims, the reach of court injunctions and the extent of damages. We examine them briefly below, keeping in mind that the patent owner in the case in hand had requested that damages be set on the basis of the infringer’s profits:
AGCOM strikes again against a torrent site
The Italian Communication Authority, AGCOM (Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni) has ordered “mere conduit” service providers that operate in Italian territory to disable access to the website torrentvia.com (decision No. 51/14/CSP).
The suspension of validity and infringement proceedings pending appeal against the grant of a patent: a recent decision of the Court of Milan
On 19 June the Business Chamber of the Court of Milan issued a ruling on patents focusing on the suspension of validity and infringement proceedings pending appeal against the grant of a patent.
Patent limitation in validity proceedings before Italian courts: an important ruling of the Milan IP Court
A recent ruling of the IP Court of Milan (Judgment no. 7708/2014, published on 11/06/2014) provides a few insights on the issue of patent limitations in the course of proceedings before Italian courts under Article 79 paragraph 3 of the Italian IP Code (as amended in 2010 to mirror provisions in Article 138 of the EPC). Article 79 paragraph 3 gives patent holders the right to submit to the Court, in the course of validity proceedings, amendments to disputed patent claims “within the limits of the patent application as originally filed and not extending the scope of protection conferred by the patent as granted”.
The ECJ ruled about copyright regarding copies of an Internet site on-screen and in the hard disk cache
On 5 June 2014, the European Court of Justice, Fourth Chamber, issued a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of Article 5 of Directive 2001/29/EC on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society.
Rights on independent contractors’ inventions according to the IP Court of Milan
An invention made by an independent contractor, if that contractor was hired to invent, belongs to the client. This principle, which is already well established in Italian case-law, has been confirmed by the IP Court of Milan in recent judgment no. 6964/2014.
A Technical Text can be a Copyrightable Work (IP Court of Milan, Judgment no. 6057/2014)
A technical text can be protected from unauthorised use under copyright laws. In fact, the lower degree of freedom enjoined by the author may make it easier to obtain copyright protection.
The Italian Data Protection Authority Issues Guidelines for the Use of Cookies
The Italian Data Protection Authority (“Garante della privacy”) has recently issued a decision on practical ways to provide mandatory information and acquire consent for the use of cookies on websites.
The Court of Turin on the liability of Internet Service Providers
Over the last few years various legal cases, both at international and national (Italian) level, dealt with the liability of Internet Service Providers (“ISP”) for the illegal conduct of the service users.
Martini Manna listed in the IAM Patent 1000 among top Italian patent practitioners
Martini Manna and its partners have been listed in the 2014 edition of the IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners guide as top patent practitioners in the Italian jurisdiction.
Ex-brokers, customer base and protection of confidential information (IP Court of Milan, Ruling no. 6579/2014)
A brokerage firm may not lawfully use information relating to the customers of its principal after the termination of the agency relationship, according to a recent ruling of the IP Court of Milan.
The Changing Rules of e-Commerce
Starting on 13 June, amendments to the Italian Consumer Code (Legislative Decree 206/2005) introduced by Legislative Decree 21/2014 will come into force, implementing Directive 2011/83/EU.
The Italian Communication Regulatory Authority strikes: are days numbered for “torrent” websites?
On 5 May 2014 the Italian Communication Regulatory Authority (hereinafter “Authority”) published four orders on its website following applications that had been filed a few weeks earlier under the new Regulation on the protection of copyright on electronic communications networks, which entered into force on 31 March 2014.
A Ruling of the IP Court of Bologna on the Concept of the “Informed User” in regard to Components of Complex Products
Ruling in a court case centred around the component of a complex product, the IP Court of Bologna, partially contradicting its own appointed expert, made some interesting points on the concept of the “informed user” in design matters.
Recent changes to the term of protection for copyright and related rights
Legislative Decree n. 22 of February 2014 published on 11 March 2014, adopting the directive 2011/77/EU which amends the term of protection for copyright and certain related rights, modifies some of the articles of the Italian Copyright Law n. 633/1941 (“ICL”). Below is a summary of the main changes introduced by the decree.
The unenforceability of a European patent in Italy due to the inaccurate translation of the European text: a recent decision of the Court of Milan
On 4 March the Business Court of Milan (Judges Ms Tavassi, Ms Gandolfi and Mr Marangoni) published a judgment in a European patent infringement case in which the court was required to assess the weight of the discrepancy between the text of a European patent and the Italian translation enforced therein.
ECJ preliminary ruling: the data retention Directive 24/2006 is invalid.
In joined cases C-293/12 and C-594/12, the ECJ was called upon to examine the validity of Directive 24/2006 concerning the retention of data that are generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks.
The Court of Milan rules on fair compensation for the exploitation of films
In a judgment published on 1 April, the Business Court of Milan (Judges Ms Tavassi, Ms Giani and Ms Gandolfi) ruled on the fair compensation of the author of a film who assigned the relevant broadcasting rights to the producer of the same work .
Fair compensation. The ECJ on whether or not to take into account private copies made from unlawful reproductions
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands requested a preliminary ruling from the ECJ (case C-435/12) on the interpretation of art. 5 of the Directive 2001/29/CE on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society.
The IP court of Milan protects Le Corbusier
With sentence no. 2311/14, issued on 17 February 2014 in case no. 37937/11, the Milan IP Court (Judges Mrs. Tavassi, Mr. Perrotti and Mrs. Gandolfi) decided in favour of Cassina S.p.a. in proceedings on copyright infringement and unfair competition commenced by Cassina against High Tech s.r.l. The subject matter of the dispute related to the copies of the works by Le Corbusier known as LC1, LC2 and LC4, marketed by High Tech in the absence of any authorisation by Cassina, i.e. the exclusive copyright holder.