The directorial decree of 27 February 2020 was recently published in the Official Gazette. It contains the implementing regulations for the registration in the special register of historic trademarks of national interest.
The registration request can only be submitted electronically, by selecting the “Registration in the special register of historic trademarks of national interest” option in the online portal of the Ministry of the Economic Development – Italian Patent and Trademark Office (https://servizionline.uibm.gov.it).
It should be recalled that registration is subject to the existence of two alternative conditions: ownership of a registered trademark for at least 50 years or the possibility to prove its genuine and continued use for the same period of time. In the first case, it will be sufficient to submit the application of first filing, the subsequent chain of renewals and possible changes that have occurred (limitations, renunciations, etc.). For unregistered trademarks, a sample of the trademark, the indication of the goods/services for which it has been used and suitable documentary evidence (invoices, catalogs, packaging samples, price lists, advertising, etc.) must be attached to the request.
The Office will verify the above conditions in a maximum time of 60 days, for registered trademarks, or 180 days, for unregistered trademarks. If the outcome of the investigation is positive, the trademark will be published in the special register of historic trademarks of national interest, which can be consulted on the website www.uibm.gov.it.