A trademark is a sign that distinguishes the owner's goods and services and identifies them as originating from his enterprise, distinguishing them from those of his competitors. It is the most important of all distinctive signs. Anyone can register a trademark, either in their own name or in the name of their company.
Trademark registration confers on the owner an exclusive right to the trademark itself. In other words, the owner of a registered trademark may use it exclusively, assign or license it and, finally, prevent third parties from filing or using a trademark that is the same or similar to his own.
A trademark is a territorial right and is obtained through a registration procedure to be carried out before the Trademark Offices of the relevant territories. The procedure includes, after the filing of the application, an examination phase by the Office Examiners and a publication phase, in which third parties, already owners of earlier trademarks, are given the opportunity to file oppositions against later trademark applications.
Timeframes for granting vary from country to country. In Italy, the average time to grant a trademark, in the absence of objections or disputes, is about 6 months from the date of application. It is important to emphasise that the trademark is protected from when the application reaches registration, but the date of protection coincides with the filing date.
Our professionals assist clients at every stage of the trademark registration process, as well as in pre-registration and post-registration activities. In fact, our professionals are available to assist you in preliminary searches to identify the risks associated with the choice of a given trademark, as well as in the active defence of the trade mark after registration, through the monitoring of trade marks filed by your competitors and actions in administrative, judicial and extrajudicial proceedings.