ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Maurizio Marullo, Giorgio Vagnoni, Francesco Amoresano and Fausto Consolo, LAWP Studio legale e tributario
5.2 Copyright/Database Rights Copyright is regulated by Law No 633/1941 (the “Copyright Law” ), which safeguards works of creativity (including databases) across various mediums, including literature, music, figurative arts, architecture, theatre and cinematography. Through copyright, authors gain the exclusive right to use and publish their work, as well as the “moral rights” to claim authorship and act against misrepresentation or damage to their reputation. Copyright lasts for the author’s life - time and up to seventy years after death, while moral rights are perpetual and transferable through inheritance. Copyright holders are protected in several ways: generally, the breacher is ordered to stop using the protected work and compensate any harm caused to the copyright holder. The breacher may also be ordered to destroy any infringing materials. Unlawful conduct under the Copyright Law is also punished through administrative and crimi - nal sanctions (eg, imprisonment and fines). Copyright Law is pivotal in the sports sector as it can offer protection to the image rights of athletes, including their faces, jersey numbers, likenesses and signature moves. A notable cop - yright case involved football team Inter Milan, whose official “stadium anthem” could no longer be played due to a dispute between the club and Image rights are protected by the Italian Civil Code and the Copyright Law (see 5.2 Copyright/ Database Rights ). The Civil Code (Article 10) safeguards the image of an individual in case of unlawful exhibition/ the copyright holder of the song. 5.3 Image Rights and Other IP
since they acquire independent distinctive fea - tures over the years, especially when combined with a club’s colours and logos. This trend aligns with the growing focus of professional clubs on rebranding initiatives to enhance their marketing appeal. Registering a trade mark grants its creator all the relative IP rights and protection against: • any unlawful use of said trade mark; • any potential registration of similar competing trade marks; and • any attempts at counterfeiting, usurpation or alteration. Further, clubs can also leverage criminal laws that penalise anyone trading in or introducing counterfeit goods in Italy (Article 474 of the Ital - ian Criminal Code), and obtain prompt support from public enforcement officials. Also, sports leagues collectively negotiate with third-party agencies in the interests of their affiliates to engage private investigation services to discover and prevent counterfeiting. Existing trademarks owned by others, even if less well-known, can limit a club’s ability to expand its trademark protection to new product categories. In a notable case, AC Milan sub - mitted a request in 2017 for EU registration of its trade mark regarding, among others, office items; however, a German firm that held the word mark MILAN relating to office items, filed an opposition to the EUIPO in order to avoid confusion among German consumers. The EUI - PO and the EU Tribunal upheld the objection based on the likelihood of the two trade marks being confused.
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