News Trademarks, Domain Names, Copyright 2011

Trademark Opposition Proceedings in Italy

Having recently completed the professional training of 18 new examiners and resolved the backlog of pending applications, the Italian Trademark Office has indicated that the much awaited opposition proceedings will be operative from July 1, 2011.

In other words, national trademark applications filed in Italy after May 1 , will be subject to opposition from third party holders of conflicting trademark rights. The same will apply to International trademark registrations designating Italy and published on International Gazette after July 1 .

Oppositions, for now, must be filed by registered post or filed directly at the Trademark Office in Rome and an opposition fee of Euro 250.00 is payable.

The Office estimates that it will handle approximately 3,000 to 3,500 oppositions per year (based on national filing statistics and OHIM averages) and has opted for an across the board launch (oppositions may be filed with respect to applications in all 45 classes of goods and services) as opposed to the widely expected phasing in of the proceedings by individual classes and/or groups of classes.

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