An Italian patent is an exclusive right valid solely in the in Italian territory. The competent Patent Office is the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (abbreviated in Italian as UIBM) based in Rome.
Granting procedure
Further to the filing of a patent application, begins the year of priority, in such period of time it is possible to perform additional tests and optimizations of the invention, in order to extend the content of the patent application within this period. Basically, within 12 months from the filing date, the holder may decide whether to integrate or not the Italian patent application, extending it (claiming priority) to other territories and maintaining the original filing date.
Within 9 months from the filing date a search report is issued in cooperation with the European Patent Office, and after 18 months the patent application is made available to the public.
Within 21 months from the application filing date it is necessary to respond to the Official notification concerning the results that emerged in the relevant search report; after that, the application follows an administrative procedure that usually leads to the final granting.
Timing for obtaining the grant
The timing for obtaining the grant will take few years from the reply to the communications issued by the Office.
Benefits
The filing of an Italian patent application enables the applicant to receive a search report by the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (UIBM), prepared by the European Patent Office (EPO), in which any relevant publications are reported for the purposes of the patentability of the invention. In fact, since 2008, there is a partnership between the two Offices which allows receiving said search report without additional fixed costs, within 9 months from the filing of the Italian patent application. The outcome of the search report is a useful starting point for evaluating possible extensions in priority, as above indicated.