In a decision dated 18 October 2022, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) fined the Company Mediamarket, which owns and controls the Mediaworld brand, 3.6 million euros for unfair commercial practices characterised by misleading and aggressive behaviour towards consumers.

The European General Court, while reiterating that colour marks can only be registered exceptionally, emphasises that the key point must be the assessment of the distinctive character determined in relation to the goods/services claimed and the consumers concerned

An important ruling by the Court of Rome that opens the way for an interesting debate regarding the applicability of certain judicial measures to products from the blockchain world

The Board of Appeal of the EUIPO ruled on an interesting case concerning the pre-disclosure of EU designs.

Although iconic, for the EUIPO the shape of Dior's “Saddle Bag” does not deviate sufficiently from the industry standard to have original distinctiveness

The Authority for the first time addressed the practice of serial cease-and-desist letters in the matter of online IP infringements, drawing an ideal line.

The Milan Court of Appeals delimits the relationship between the protection of simple photographs and photographic works and the right to report.

The EU General Court clarified that in relation to marks consisting of signs that are used as trade slogans, the registration is not precluded by reason of such use as long as those marks are suitable for assuring consumers of the origin of the goods or services they designate.

According to the recent EUIPO Observatory study, 93% of SMEs with registered IP assets had a positive impact on their business.

Last August 1st, with sentence No. 30289, the Supreme Court Criminal Section ruled on the possibility of granting copyright protection to jewellery items.

it is often difficult to obtain the registration and judicial protection for 3D trademarks corresponding to the shape of the relevant product. Here are some of the most recent and well-known decisions on the matter issued by the Italian courts.

The Authority, in an emergency measure adopted on 7 July, warned the famous Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok that it is illegal to use personal data stored without the data subject's explicit consent.

(picture by Lisa Fotios - pexels.com)

Three years after COFEMEL, the Italian trial courts still seem far from recognising that copyright protection cannot be conditional on the existence of any artistic value. Here are the most relevant decisions on the matter.

The Italian Supreme Court regarding Article 97 of the LDA has ruled how photographic portraits of famous people can be published without prior consent, provided there is a public interest and the individual's right to privacy is not violated.

Euipo expressed on the distinctiveness of a vodka bottle, focusing on color combinations.

The French company Les Éditions P. Amaury was able to have the EU Court partially overturn Euipo's earlier decisions by demonstrating the actual use of the "Ballon D'Or" trademark for entertainment services under Class 41 of the Nice Classification.

The current version of the Italian Patent Box regime provides for a tax bonus of 110% for research and development costs related to certain types of intangible assets. In essence, a cost of 100 would be recognised as costs of 210 for tax purposes.

The Privacy Authority's Annual Report showed a significant increase in data breach notifications in 2021, a 50% more than in er 2020.

The Court of Justice has outlined the characters of the concept of "acquiescence" as expressed in Directive 2008/95 and Regulation 207/2009, with particular regard to its application following the sending of a letter of formal notice and the filing of the writ of summons.

The Italian Data Protection Authority (“Garante”) recently ruled on the use of Google Analytics, the web analytics service offered by Google to website operators, which enables the generation of detailed statistics about users.