ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Massimo Tavella, Jacopo Ciani and Barbara Mazzi, Tavella Avvocati Associati
as prizes is prohibited, as it is considered equivalent to cash and falls under the restrictions on cash prizes in promotional activities. On the other hand, prizes con - sisting of NFTs, including those involving blockchain technology, are allowed because NFTs are intangible assets that can be evaluated economically and are subject to taxation, both at the time of issue and while circulating in the market. 9.2 Metaverse In Italy, there is no specific legislation dedicated exclu - sively to advertising in the metaverse; Italian authori - ties are monitoring the evolution of the metaverse and associated technologies, such as NFTs and blockchain, to ensure that advertising practices com - ply with existing regulations. Although no specific measures have yet been issued for advertising in the metaverse, the updated guidelines from the IAP indi - cate a commitment to more careful regulation of new technologies. Advertising of medicines is regulated in a specific sec - tion of Legislative Decree No 219/2006 (the “Code of Medicines”). Advertising of medical devices is regulat - ed by EU Regulation No 745/2017 on medical devices, as well as by specific sections of (i) Legislative Decree No 46/1997 and (ii) Legislative decrees No 137/2022 and 138/2022, implementing the MDR and the IVDR respectively. In addition, the Ministry of Health has issued specific guidelines on the advertising of non- prescription medicines (SOP) and OTC, as well as on the use of various advertising channels such as paper publications, call centres or social media in the con - text of the medicines advertising. 10. Product Compliance 10.1 Regulated Products Advertising of medicines and medical devices to the public always requires the authorisation of the Minis - try of Health. Should the Ministry of Health not pro - vide this authorisation within 45 days of the date of the application, it is deemed to have been granted. The authorisation lasts for 24 months. Advertising to healthcare professionals does not need to be author -
ised. With regard to medicines only, there is only a duty to submit the marketing material to AIFA but no actual authorisation is required. Promotion of medi - cines to the public is only permitted if the drugs are non-prescription or do not need the intervention of a doctor for diagnostic purposes. Advertising of tobac - co and vaping products is banned under Italian law, with limited exceptions for point-of-sale displays. No advertising is permitted for cannabis either. 10.2 Product Placement Product placement is explicitly regulated under the Legislative Decree No 208/2021 (regarding media ser - vices), which implements the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive. Placement is permitted in films, TV series and certain entertainment programmes, pro - vided it does not mislead the public or unduly pro - mote the product. It must be clearly disclosed at the start and end of the programme, or after commercial breaks, usually with an on-screen symbol. Product placement is prohibited in news, children’s programming, and when it encourages unsafe or excessive consumption. The law requires that edito - rial independence is preserved, so content cannot be scripted solely around the sponsor’s product; there - fore, products should be integrated naturally into the context of the programme, avoiding excessive or forced emphasis. The IAP Code also applies, ensuring that product placement respects general principles of fairness, recognisability, and consumer protection. 10.3 Other Products Article 9 of the Law Decree 12 July 2018, No 87 forbids any form of direct and indirect advertising related to betting activities, gambling and other types of games with cash winnings. Besides, the AGCOM guidelines provide interpretative clarifications regarding the sub - jective, objective and temporal application on the Ital - ian gambling advertising ban. As a general principle, merely informative communications are still allowed, but the scope of this exception needs to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
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