patent registration
Patent Registration in Italy and Europe
We prepare who will own the patent, the route into Italy and the fee calendar; the applicant, its employee or an enrolled agent files.
- 20 years for an invention, 10 for a utility model (UIBM)
- Filing tax due within one month of filing (Milan chamber)
- Representation before UIBM is optional (Art. 201 CPI)
- An EU or EEA domicile in every application (Art. 147 CPI)
The owner of the invention is settled before the filing, not after it.
Patent filings prepared around the owner
Patent registration in Italy begins, for us, with who will hold the right. We prepare the owner file, the filing file and the fee calendar, and coordinate the agent, the notary and the accountant. The applicant, its employee or an enrolled agent files at UIBM (Ufficio Italiano Brevetti e Marchi, the Italian patent and trade mark office), as Art. 201 CPI allows.
It serves a foreign group with researchers in an Italian company, a non-resident founder, and a payments or crypto-asset business planning patents beside financial licensing in Italy. Owner, route and title stay the client's choice.
What's included
What we prepare; the decisions and the filing stay with the client.
The owner decision file
Founder, foreign parent, Italian operating company or IP-holding company, each set against the statutory rules in the table below, unranked.
The Italian owner company
Formed first, the notary receiving the deed, as on the S.r.l. formation page, or taken over: what a buyer takes over with a ready-made Italian company.
Employee-inventor review
Who holds an invention made by staff in Italy, the fair reward (equo premio) and the employer's option, settled with the employer's counsel first (Art. 64 CPI).
Route and title map
National, classic European, unitary effect or PCT; patent for invention or utility model (modello di utilità). Conditions laid out, no conclusion drawn.
The filing file
Description, claims and their English translation, abstract and drawings, written by the inventor or agent; we collect them and check completeness (UIBM).
Domicile, PEC and channel
The EU or EEA domicile, a PEC (posta elettronica certificata, certified email) or analogous address, and the channel, fixed before filing (Art. 147 CPI).
Fee and renewal calendar
The filing tax within one month, annual fees from the 5th year in the filing month, the six-month grace (Milan chamber). Our practice, not a statutory duty.
Recording a transfer
A right moved into the Italian owner is recorded (trascrizione) at UIBM, with its fee (Art. 138 CPI); we prepare the file.
Not included: filing before UIBM or the EPO, representing anyone, paying the state for the client, or writing the claims. Any agent is on the roll of the industrial-property consultants or a lawyer (Art. 201 CPI).
The owner decision, rule by rule
Four owners are possible: founder, foreign parent, Italian operating company or IP-holding company. The table lists the rules that attach and ranks none; the tax side sits with intellectual property in Italy.
| Rule | What it says | Owner it touches | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee inventions | Paid inventive work, or an invention made in performing the job: the employer holds the rights; in the second case the inventor has a fair reward where the employer obtains the patent or uses the invention as an industrial secret; otherwise, for an invention within the employer's field of activity, a three-month employer option from the notice of filing, on its use or on buying the patent, against a fee or price; a patent requested within one year after the inventor left counts as made in the employment where the invention falls within the former employer's field of activity | The company that employs the researchers | Art. 64 CPI, text in force from 2 September 2010 |
| Moving the right later | A transfer, or an act of company concerning the right, is made public by recording at UIBM: fee EUR 50 per patent, plus stamp duty of EUR 80 online flat rate, or EUR 16 per request plus EUR 16 per four pages on paper | A right filed by the founder or the parent, then moved | Art. 138 CPI; UIBM |
| Patent box, to 31 December 2026 | R&D costs on patents, designs, models and copyright-protected software used in the business uplifted by 110 per cent; for holders of business income; five tax periods, irrevocable, renewable; the optant does the R&D itself, by contract only with unrelated companies, universities or research bodies; a non-resident only from a treaty country with effective information exchange | The holder that uses the right in its business | Art. 6 D.L. 146/2021, printed text in force 31 December 2021 to 31 December 2026; Normattiva shows it repealed from 1 January 2027 by D.Lgs. 117/2026 |
| Royalties paid abroad | Final withholding of 30 per cent on the taxable part; exempt between associated EU companies under Art. 26-quater, where one holds directly at least 25 per cent of the other's voting rights, or a third EU company holds 25 per cent of both, kept for at least one year; no treaty rate is given here | An Italian company paying a foreign owner | Art. 25(4) and Art. 26-quater D.P.R. 600/1973, printed texts in force to 31 December 2026 |
| Innovative start-up | Holding, depositing or licensing an industrial right tied to the corporate purpose is one alternative criterion; obtaining a patent is one ground to stay in the special register up to five years | An Italian start-up innovativa (innovative start-up) that holds or licenses the right | Art. 25(2) and (2-bis) D.L. 179/2012 |
Sources: the Industrial Property Code (D.Lgs. 30/2005); UIBM; D.L. 146/2021; D.P.R. 600/1973; D.L. 179/2012.
A new IP-holding owner is formed before any filing in its name: setting up a holding S.r.l. in Italy.
Four routes to protection in Italy
A patent is protected only in the country where it was granted, so a foreign patent gives no protection in Italy by itself (Milan chamber). Marks follow a parallel choice: whether to file a national or an EU trade mark.
Priority year: a first filing in a Paris Convention state opens 12 months to file elsewhere
National filing at UIBM
a patent for invention or a utility model
- FilingUIBMonline, at any chamber or by post
- TermUIBM20 years for an invention, 10 for a utility model
Classic European patent
granted by the EPO, then validated in Italy
- GrantEPOthe European patent is granted by the EPO
- Validationchamberthe procedure started at any chamber within three months of issue, with the Italian translation
European patent with unitary effect
requested after the EPO grant
- GrantEPOthe European patent is granted by the EPO
- Single requestEPOregistered on or after 1 September 2024: effect in 18 states, Italy among them
PCT application
one international application
- Filingchamberone application for several listed countries
- Grantschambersingle countries or regional offices grant later
A patent is protected only in the country where it was granted; once the application is public and the 12 months have run, it cannot be extended abroad (Milan chamber). The four routes are shown side by side and none is ranked.
National filing at UIBM
A patent for invention (20 years) or utility model (10 years), filed online, at any chamber or by post (UIBM). While still under preliminary control, an invention application may be accepted as a utility model, the applicant amending it and the filing date unchanged (Milan chamber).
Classic European patent
Granted by the EPO, then validated in Italy, the procedure started within three months of its issue at any chamber, with the Italian translation (Italy is outside the London Agreement). Annual fees: F24 code C301 (UIBM).
European patent with unitary effect
Requested after the EPO grant; registered on or after 1 September 2024, it takes effect in 18 states, Italy among them, with no request fee and one renewal procedure (EPO, Unitary Patent).
PCT application
One international application for several listed countries; single countries or regional offices grant later (Milan chamber). PCT fees are not covered here.
A first filing in a Paris Convention state opens 12 months to file elsewhere; once the application is public and they have run, the patent cannot be extended abroad (Milan chamber).
How the filing runs, step by step
Filing a patent in Italy, owner first. A clock is a statutory or stated term; otherwise none is given.
Decide who will own the right
Against the table above; an Italian owner, or one opting for the patent box, is formed first. The client and its tax adviser; we prepare. A first filing abroad starts the 12-month priority year.
Settle the employee-inventor position
Paid inventive work, the fair reward, the employer's option (Art. 64 CPI).
The employer and its counsel. Option: three months from the notice of filing
Choose the route and the title
National, classic European, unitary effect or PCT; invention or utility model.
The applicant and any agent. Within the 12-month priority year
Prepare the text
Description, claims, abstract, drawings and English claims, which on UIBM's wording avoid the EUR 200 search fee and bring the EPO search report free of charge.
The inventor or the agent; we check completeness
Fix domicile, PEC and channel
An EU or EEA domicile, a PEC or analogous address; online with a verified digital identity, or paper and post (Art. 147 CPI).
The applicant. Before filing
File
Online at UIBM, at a chamber counter or by post; the receiving office issues the attestation of filing on receipt (Art. 147(1) CPI).
The applicant, its employee or the agent
Pay the filing tax
Pre-filled F24, code C300, or a euro transfer from abroad (UIBM); paid late, the application is inadmissible (irricevibile).
The applicant. Within one month (Milan chamber)
Examination, grant and upkeep
UIBM examines, the EPO provides the search report, annual fees run from the 5th year.
No term to grant is stated, so none is promised
Not sure who should hold the patent, or which route reaches Italy?
The owner, the route and the title are set out with their conditions before anything is filed. The choice stays yours.
What the Italian state charges
Filing tax (tassa di concessione governativa), chamber fee (diritto di segreteria), stamp duty (imposta di bollo), annual and recording fees, as printed by UIBM's patents page and the Milan chamber. Paid by F24, code C300 (C301 for a validated European patent's annual fees), or by euro transfer from abroad (UIBM tariff page). Our fees are on request.
| Item | Amount | Condition | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online filing tax | EUR 50 for an invention, first 10 claims included; EUR 50 for a utility model | Paid within one month of filing | UIBM |
| Paper filing tax, invention | EUR 120 up to 10 pages; EUR 160 for 11 to 20; EUR 400 for 21 to 50; EUR 600 above 50 | By pages of Italian text; on the chamber's wording, includes the first 4 years of maintenance | Milan chamber, patent costs |
| Paper filing tax, utility model | EUR 120 | Whatever the pages or claims; the first five years included | UIBM; Milan chamber |
| Each claim beyond the tenth | EUR 45 | Online and on paper | UIBM; Milan chamber |
| Search fee | EUR 200 | Only where the English translation of the claims is missing | UIBM; Milan chamber |
| Chamber fee and stamp, paper filing | EUR 40 for the filing alone; EUR 43 with a certified copy; EUR 16 stamp | Stamp per four pages of a certified copy, and on an agent's original letter of appointment | Milan chamber; UIBM tariff page |
| Annual fees, invention | EUR 60, 90, 120, 170, 200, 230, 310, 410, 530, 600 for years 5 to 14; EUR 650 in each of years 15 to 20 | By the last useful day of the filing month; grant still pending at the end of year 4: payable without surcharge within four months after the grant | Milan chamber, maintenance fees |
| Late annual fee | EUR 100 surcharge | Within the next six months; then the title lapses into the public domain | Milan chamber; UIBM |
| Utility model, second five years | EUR 500, a single fee | The same EUR 100 surcharge if late | UIBM; Milan chamber |
| Recording a transfer | UIBM fee EUR 50 per patent; stamp duty EUR 80 online flat rate, or EUR 16 per request plus EUR 16 per four pages on paper | Per patent recorded | UIBM; Art. 138 CPI |
law set by the Industrial Property Codechamber the Milan chamber's published pageUIBM UIBM's published page
- 1
Filing day
The applicant, its employee or the agent
- law the receiving office issues the attestation of filing on receipt (Art. 147(1) CPI)
- 2
Within one month
Filing tax, F24 code C300 or a euro transfer
- chamber paid late, the application is inadmissible (irricevibile)
- 3
Years 1 to 4
Maintenance
- chamber covered by the paper filing tax on the Milan chamber's wording
- not stated for an online filing
- 4
From year 5
Annual fees, by the last useful day of the filing month
- chamber EUR 60 in year 5, rising to EUR 650 in each of years 15 to 20
- 5
Six-month grace
A missed annual fee
- chamber paid within the next six months with the EUR 100 surcharge
- UIBM then the title lapses into the public domain
- 6
Year 20
End of term for an invention
- UIBM 20 years; 10 for a utility model
Patent box Art. 6 D.L. 146/2021, printed text in force to 31 December 2026; Normattiva shows it repealed from 1 January 2027 by D.Lgs. 117/2026 re-enactment open
Amounts as printed by UIBM and the Milan chamber; no total is given
Documents an applicant from abroad provides
What the applicant supplies; any legalisation or sworn translation is checked with the agent.
- The applicant's identification and an elected domicile in an EU or EEA state (Art. 147 CPI)
- For a business, a PEC or an analogous certified electronic address
- The application form, description, claims, abstract and any drawings (UIBM)
- For an invention, the English translation of the claims, or the EUR 200 search fee without it (UIBM)
- For online filing, a verified digital identity; otherwise the paper or postal route
- An agent's letter of appointment with its stamp, or the appointment in the application
- For payment, an F24 with the payer's codice fiscale (tax code), or a euro transfer
- The 15-digit application number, followed by the two-digit year on every annual F24
Problems we solve
Where Italian filings go wrong, and how the file and calendar guard against it. No grant or date is promised.
Filing tax paid late
After one month the application is declared inadmissible (Milan chamber). We diarise the F24 on the filing day.
Priority year lost
Once public and past 12 months, the application cannot be extended abroad (Milan chamber). We note the first filing date on day one.
An annual date missed
Six months of grace with a EUR 100 surcharge, then the patent lapses into the public domain (Milan chamber). The calendar tracks the filing month.
A payment request that is not the state's
UIBM warns of fraudulent payment requests using its officials' names. State fees go only through the channels UIBM's tariff page names (F24, PagoPA or a euro transfer from abroad); the chamber fee is paid at the chamber.
An owner that cannot use the patent box
Art. 6(4) D.L. 146/2021 lists no intra-group research contract, and a non-resident optant needs a treaty country. We check both, on the 2026 text, before filing.
Already holding an Italian or European patent?
The annual dates, a validation window or a recording into the Italian company, set out with the holder.
Why work with us
Silvia Brivio
Regulatory and Founder Mobility Lead, Milan. She prepares trade mark and patent files, checks each against the office's own list and coordinates the enrolled agent who files.
We coordinate the agent or lawyer, the notary and the accountant, holding none of their titles.
From our practice
, a worked example (not a client case):** an Italian subsidiary of a non-EU parent pays a researcher for inventive work, so it holds the invention (Art. 64 CPI). The filing names an EU or EEA domicile and a PEC; the filing tax is due within one month; annual fees fall in the filing month from year 5; a later move to the parent is recorded at UIBM.
Frequently asked questions
Do you file the patent, or act as our patent attorney?
No. The applicant, its own employee or an appointed agent files, and an agent must be on the roll of the industrial-property consultants or a lawyer on the bar roll (Art. 201 CPI). We prepare the file, coordinate the agent, the notary and the accountant, and keep the fee and renewal calendar.
What does your service cost?
Our fees are quoted on request once the scope is known: whether an Italian company is formed to own the right, which route is taken, and whether a transfer is recorded at UIBM. The state's own charges are separate and listed in the table above, each with its source and the date of the page that prints it.
How long until the patent is granted?
Neither UIBM nor the Milan chamber states a term from filing to grant, and none is given here for the EPO, so we promise none. Two early clocks are fixed: the receiving office issues the attestation of filing on receipt (Art. 147(1) CPI), and the filing tax is due within one month of filing.
Do I need a patent attorney?
No one is obliged to use an agent before UIBM. A legal person may act through its own employee or, on the conditions of Art. 201(1) CPI, through an employee of a linked company. If an agent is appointed, only an agent on the roll of the industrial-property consultants or a lawyer on the bar roll may act.
Can an applicant outside the EU file in Italy?
Every application states or elects a domicile in an EU or EEA state, and a business also gives a PEC or an analogous certified address (Art. 147 CPI). Online filing needs a verified digital identity; paper filing at a chamber or by post stays open (UIBM). How a non-EU applicant without an EU identity files online is not stated.
Is a US or other foreign patent valid in Italy?
No. A patent is protected only in the country where it was granted (Milan chamber). Protection in Italy needs a national filing at UIBM, a European patent validated in Italy or registered with unitary effect, or a PCT application that reaches a national or regional phase. A first filing in a Paris Convention state opens 12 months to file elsewhere.
Does a European patent cover Italy automatically?
A classic European patent does not: national validation starts within three months of its issue, at any Chamber of Commerce, with the Italian translation attached (Milan chamber). A European patent registered with unitary effect on or after 1 September 2024 takes effect in 18 EU states, Italy among them (EPO). Which outcome fits is the client's choice.
Patent or utility model, and for how long?
A patent for invention lasts 20 years from the filing date and a utility model 10 years (UIBM). A utility model is a new version of an existing industrial product that makes it easier to use. Under preliminary control, UIBM can accept an invention application as a utility model; the applicant amends it, keeping the filing date (Milan chamber).
What does the state charge to file, and what if the tax is paid late?
Online, EUR 50 for an invention (first 10 claims) or a utility model (UIBM). On paper, EUR 120 to EUR 600 by pages for an invention and EUR 120 for a utility model, plus a chamber fee and a conditional stamp. Each claim beyond the tenth adds EUR 45. Paid after one month, the application is inadmissible (Milan chamber).
What does it cost to keep a patent alive?
Annual fees rise from EUR 60 in year 5 to EUR 650 in each of years 15 to 20, due in the filing month; on the Milan chamber's wording the paper filing tax covers years 1 to 4. Six months late costs EUR 100 more, then the patent lapses. A utility model pays EUR 500 for its second five years.
What is the format of an Italian patent number, and how do I search the register?
Since May 2015 UIBM numbers every national filing with 15 digits; that number, followed by the two-digit year number, is the reference of each annual F24 payment (Milan chamber). UIBM keeps databases for searching inventions, utility models and other titles and for the official bulletins, and the EPO's online register shows the legal status of Unitary Patents.
Who owns an invention made by an employee of the Italian company?
The employer, where the job pays for inventive work or the invention is made in performing it; in the second case a fair reward is owed if the employer patents it or uses it as an industrial secret (Art. 64 CPI). Otherwise, for an invention in its field, the employer has a three-month option from the notice of filing.
Should the Italian company or the foreign parent hold the patent, and is there tax relief?
The client chooses. Transfers are recorded at UIBM (Art. 138 CPI). Outbound royalties bear 30 per cent final on the taxable part, unless an EU exemption or treaty rate applies (Art. 25(4) D.P.R. 600/1973, in force to 31 December 2026). The 110 per cent patent box uplift runs to 31 December 2026 (Art. 6 D.L. 146/2021); re-enactment open.
Ready to set out the owner, the route and the fee calendar?
The owner first, the filing second: the applicant or its agent files, and we prepare the file and keep the calendar. Pricing on request.