Since December 1st, 1978 Italy is party of the European Patent
Convention. Thus, patent rights enforceable in Italy may be obtained
either by filing a national patent application or, in the alternative,
by filing a European patent application (optionally through the
PCT route) which designates Italy.
The patentability requirements applicable to European patent applications
(under the E.P.C.) and those applicable to national patent applications
(under the national patent law) are substantially the same, as
a result of an extensive revision of the Italian patent law carried
out in 1979, in order to harmonize it with the European Patent
Convention. In spite of that, the choice between the national
route and the European route when seeking patent rights in our
country is not totally irrelevant, owing to the different reliability
of the two patent examination systems.
Actually, as Italian patents do not undergo a real substantive
examination and patent rights are granted in a quite straightforward
manner, it is surely easier to prosecute a case as Italian patent
application rather that through the European route. On the other
hand, European patents resulting from the substantial examination
before the E.P.O. are given a higher prima facie value than national
patents.
European patent applications may be filed and prosecuted from
our office on behalf of nationals of any country, and granted
European patents can be validated in respect of the Italian territory,
by filing with the Italian Patent Office an Italian translation
of the specification text as granted.
