trade mark registration
Register a Trade Mark in Italy and the EU
Before anything is filed, we prepare which register, which company of your group owns the mark, and how and when it is filed.
- Every application elects a domicile in the EU or EEA (Art. 147 CPI)
- No agent is required at UIBM; any agent is on the roll or a lawyer (Art. 201 CPI)
- A national mark runs 10 years, renewable without limit (MIMIT)
A mark protects goods and services in trade: genuine use is the owner's duty within five years of registration (Art. 24 CPI; Art. 18 EUTMR).
Trade mark protection, planned before the filing
For a foreign group or a non-resident founder, three things are settled before the filing: the register, the owning company and the channel. Conflicts are judged at the filing date (Art. 12 CPI); a mark in the wrong name moves by recorded transfer (Art. 138 CPI). Regulated firms plan it beside obtaining MiCA authorisation for a crypto business in Italy.
UIBM (Ufficio Italiano Brevetti e Marchi, the Italian patent and trade mark office) is a directorate-general of MIMIT, the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy. It examines absolute grounds only and does not search for earlier marks (Art. 170 CPI). It publishes databases for searching trade marks, so the clearance search is the owner's.
What's included
What we prepare, and the line we do not cross.
A decision paper
Register, owner, channel and order of steps, each option set out with its article and conditions side by side. No ranking: the decision is yours.
Clearance results gathered
The search is run by the owner or its agent, because UIBM does not search earlier marks. We collect the results into the decision paper.
The goods and services list
Drafted by class under the Nice Classification, which a national application lists and an EU application follows (MIMIT; Art. 33 EUTMR).
The filing file
Applicant details, the EU or EEA domicile, a PEC (posta elettronica certificata, certified email), a clear representation of the mark, any agent's appointment and any priority claim.
The payment sheet
The state lines for the chosen channel: F24 code C302, pagoPA or a euro transfer from abroad. The filing date is the payment date (MIMIT).
The calendar kept
Priority, observations, opposition, use within five years, renewal every ten. Keeping the calendar is our practice; the owner or its agent acts on each date.
Coordination, not representation
You, your employee, a registered industrial-property consultant (consulente in proprietà industriale) or a lawyer files (Art. 201 CPI). We coordinate, never act before UIBM, EUIPO or WIPO. Patents: an Italian patent or a European patent.
The decisions before the filing
Options and their statutory conditions, never a ranking. The route across every right and the IP-holding tax layer sit on intellectual property registration Italy.
| Decision | Options | Statutory conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Which register | A national mark (UIBM); an EU trade mark (EUIPO); an international registration (Madrid) from a national or EU basic mark; a national mark plus an EU mark claiming its seniority | The EU mark is one right for the Union, and a refusal ground in part of it stops the whole application; conversion into national applications keeps the date except where a ground applies (Arts. 1(2), 7(2) and 139 EUTMR). Madrid needs an identical basic mark, filed through the office that holds it. Seniority is claimed with the EU application or within two months of its filing date (Art. 39(2) EUTMR) |
| Who applies and owns | The founder; the foreign parent; the Italian operating company, including an existing company taken over (see the detailed ready-made companies page); an Italian IP-holding company | The applicant uses the mark, or intends to, in its own business, in one it controls or in one using it with its consent (Art. 19 CPI); every application elects an EU or EEA domicile (Art. 147 CPI); a transfer is recorded at UIBM (Art. 138 CPI); an EU assignment is in writing and signed, or void (Art. 20(3) EUTMR) |
| How the filing is made | Online through the UIBM portal; paper at any Chamber of Commerce, Milan included; post to UIBM in Rome; an agent on the roll or a lawyer; the applicant's own employee or an employee of a linked company | The portal needs a verified digital identity (Art. 147 CPI); the employee of a linked company may act (Art. 201(1) CPI), and which companies count as linked is checked with a registered consultant or a lawyer |
| When, against the company's formation | Before the Italian company exists: the founder or the parent applies and a recorded transfer follows. Once it exists: the company applies | The filing date is the day the fee is paid (MIMIT), and conflicts are judged at that date (Art. 12 CPI). Whether a company still in formation can itself apply is a point to confirm with a registered consultant |
| What follows the filing | Observations, opposition, use, renewal, transfers and licences | Opposition within a peremptory three months, in Italian only (Art. 176 CPI); genuine use within five years (Art. 24 CPI; Art. 18 EUTMR); renewal every ten years (MIMIT; Art. 52 EUTMR) |
| Tax that follows the owner (as in force to 31 December 2026) | A bought mark; royalties paid to a non-resident owner; royalties between associated companies of different member States; the patent box | A bought mark amortises up to one eighteenth of its cost a year (Art. 103(1) TUIR). Royalties to a non-resident bear a final withholding of 30 per cent on the taxable part (Art. 25(4) D.P.R. 600/1973). The Art. 26-quater exemption needs a direct holding of at least 25 per cent of the voting rights, held for at least one year, among the other conditions of that article (EU residence, beneficial ownership, a residence certificate). The 110 per cent uplift of Art. 6(3) D.L. 146/2021 lists no trade marks |
Sources: Industrial Property Code (D.Lgs. 30/2005); Regulation (EU) 2017/1001; MIMIT marks page; TUIR; D.P.R. 600/1973; D.L. 146/2021.
Three registers, side by side
National mark
UIBM (Ufficio Italiano Brevetti e Marchi)
- Channelonline with a verified digital identity; paper at any Chamber of Commerce; post to UIBM in Rome; or an agent
- State chargeEUR 101 for one class, EUR 34 for each further class (government tax)
- Term10 years from filing, renewable without limit (MIMIT)
- Opposition3 months from publication, peremptory, in Italian only (Art. 176 CPI)
- Non-EU ownerno representation required: the applicant's employee, an agent on the roll or a lawyer (Art. 201 CPI)
EU trade mark
EUIPO
- Channelfiled electronically (Milan chamber)
- State chargeEUR 850 for the first class, EUR 50 for the second, EUR 150 for each beyond two (Annex I EUTMR)
- Term10 years from filing, renewable (Arts. 52 and 53 EUTMR)
- Opposition3 months from publication (Art. 46 EUTMR)
- Non-EEA ownerfiling without a representative; later steps represented unless an employee of an economically connected EEA company acts (Art. 119(3) EUTMR)
- Scopeone right for the Union; conversion into national applications keeps the date except where a ground applies (Art. 139 EUTMR)
International (Madrid)
from a basic mark
- Basisan identical national or EU basic mark
- Channelfiled through UIBM or EUIPO, which forwards it to WIPO
- State chargeUIBM basic fee EUR 135; WIPO's own fees apart, not shown
Who owns the mark? the hooks the statute sets, in every lane
use own, controlled or consented use (Art. 19 CPI)domicile an EU or EEA domicile (Art. 147 CPI)transfer recorded at UIBM (Art. 138 CPI)licence for part of the goods, services or territory (Art. 23(2) CPI; Art. 25 EUTMR)
No lane is recommended: the choice of register is made with you.
How the Italian filing works
Who acts at each step, and what the law fixes.
Choose the register and the owner
You decide with our decision paper; where the owner is a new company, forming an Italian company is ordered against the filing date.
The client. No state term
Clearance
UIBM does not search earlier marks, so its databases are searched by you or your agent; we gather the results.
The applicant or its agent. No state term
Prepare the file
Domicile, PEC, the mark, the Nice list, any appointment; priority runs six months from a first Paris Convention filing (Milan chamber).
The applicant or its agent; we draft the list and payment sheet
Choose the channel
Online needs a verified digital identity, SPID, CIE, CNS or eIDAS; otherwise paper at any Chamber of Commerce, Milan included, post to UIBM in Rome, or an agent.
The applicant
Pay and file
Online, a stamp duty first, then F24 or pagoPA; on paper, stamps, the chamber fee and a counter-issued F24. The payment date is the filing date.
The applicant or its agent
Examination
Absolute grounds only. A deficiency notice (rilievo) gives not less than two months to reply (Art. 173 CPI).
UIBM. No term for the examination in the sources read
Publication, observations, opposition
The bulletin (Bollettino) appears at least monthly; any interested party may send observations, with no term in the articles read; opposition (opposizione) within a peremptory three months, in Italian (Art. 176 CPI).
Third parties, UIBM, the applicant
The life of the mark
Use within five years, renewal every ten, transfers and licences recorded at UIBM. Pay only on UIBM's published channels: it warns of fraudulent payment requests.
The owner; we keep the calendar
Not sure which register or which company should own the mark?
The decision paper sets out each register and each owner with its conditions, before any fee is paid.
Documents you will need
What a national application asks of the applicant, per MIMIT's marks and designs page and Art. 147 CPI.
- The applicant's identification details
- A domicile elected in an EU or EEA state (domicilio elettivo)
- For a business, a PEC or analogous certified address
- A clear representation of the mark
- The goods and services, listed by Nice class
- The agent's appointment, if an agent acts
- Priority documents within six months, where priority is claimed
- For the online channel, a verified digital identity
State charges and statutory terms
What the state charges and what the law fixes, each with its source; our own fee is quoted on request. National charges as printed by the Milan chamber's national-mark cost page.
| Register | Charge | Amount | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | First filing, government tax (tassa di concessione governativa) | EUR 101 for one class, EUR 34 for each further class; collective mark EUR 337 for one or more classes | Official guidance | Milan chamber; MIMIT cost table |
| Italy | Government tax alone, arithmetic | One class EUR 101, two classes EUR 135, three classes EUR 169; no stamp, no chamber fee | Derived from the line above | Milan chamber |
| Italy | Online filing, stamp duty (imposta di bollo) | Due, bought before the filing; amount confirmed on the UIBM portal before paying | Two official pages differ | MIMIT; a chamber's online-filing page |
| Italy | Paper filing at a chamber | Chamber fee (diritti di segreteria) EUR 40, or EUR 43 with a certified copy; stamps of EUR 16, one per four pages | Official guidance | Milan chamber; MIMIT |
| Italy | Letter of appointment attached in original | EUR 34 | Official guidance | Milan chamber |
| Italy | Renewal | EUR 67 for one class, EUR 34 for each further class; EUR 34 more if up to six months late | Official guidance | Milan chamber |
| International, through UIBM | Basic fee | EUR 135, plus EUR 34 for a letter of appointment; WIPO's own fees apart, not shown | Official guidance | UIBM tariff page |
| EU | Application by electronic means | EUR 850 for the first class (EUR 1,000 otherwise), EUR 50 for the second, EUR 150 for each class beyond two; arithmetic: EUR 850, EUR 900, EUR 1,050 for one, two, three classes | Law | Annex I EUTMR |
| EU | Opposition fee | EUR 320 | Law | Annex I EUTMR |
| EU | Renewal by electronic means | EUR 850 | Law | Annex I EUTMR |
Sources: Milan chamber, national-mark cost page; MIMIT marks and designs page; UIBM tariff page; Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, as published in 2017.
An online filing carries a stamp duty bought before the filing. Two official pages print different amounts, so none is given here: confirm the figure on the UIBM portal before paying.
| Term | Length | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priority | 6 months from a first filing in a Paris Convention state; priority documents within 6 months | Official guidance | Milan chamber; MIMIT |
| Filing date | The day the fee is paid, online or at the counter; a later payment moves it | Official guidance | MIMIT; Milan chamber |
| Deficiency notice (rilievo) | Not less than 2 months from receipt to reply | Law | Art. 173 CPI |
| Observations | Any interested party, no term in the statute read; 30 days for the applicant to answer relevant observations | Law | Arts. 175 and 187 CPI |
| National opposition | 3 months, peremptory, from publication; in Italian only | Law | Art. 176 CPI |
| Opposition procedure | Notice within 2 months of the deadline; a 2-month conciliation window, extendable; proof of use within 60 days on request | Law | Art. 178 CPI |
| Use | Genuine use within 5 years of registration, national and EU | Law | Art. 24 CPI; Art. 18 EUTMR |
| National term | 10 years from filing, renewable without limit; renewal up to 6 months late; after a missed term, continuation of the procedure on request within set terms, on payment of EUR 300 | Official guidance | MIMIT; Milan chamber |
| EU filing | Fee within 1 month; seniority within 2 months; opposition 3 months from publication | Law | Arts. 32, 39 and 46 EUTMR |
| EU term | 10 years from filing; renewal in the 6 months before expiry, or 6 months after against a fee | Law | Arts. 52 and 53 EUTMR |
Problems we solve
Where a trade mark file goes wrong, and how we handle it.
No EU or EEA domicile
Without one, notices are posted on UIBM's noticeboard and count as served that day, so a reply window runs unseen (Art. 147 CPI). The file elects a domicile at the Italian company or an agent.
A late payment
The filing date moves to the payment day, and conflicts with earlier marks are judged at that date (MIMIT; Art. 12 CPI). The payment sheet is ready with the file.
The wrong owner at filing
The mark then moves by a transfer recorded at UIBM (Art. 138 CPI); an EU assignment is in writing and signed, or void (Art. 20(3) EUTMR). The decision paper sets the owner first.
Assuming UIBM searched
It does not (Art. 170 CPI). An earlier owner can oppose within a peremptory three months, drafted in Italian (Art. 176 CPI). We gather the clearance results before the filing.
An EU mark refused in one part of the Union
The whole application stops; conversion into national applications keeps the date, except where a ground applies (Arts. 7(2) and 139 EUTMR). The decision paper sets out that condition beside the national route.
A mark already filed in the wrong name, or a deadline nobody is watching?
We set out the transfer to record and the dates still open, with who acts on each.
Why work with us
Silvia Brivio
Regulatory and Founder Mobility Lead, Milan. Italian, English, Portuguese. She prepares the files that let a business operate in Italy, a trade mark or patent filing among them, and checks each file against the authority's own list.
- A group outside the EU, forming an Italian company, wants its word mark protected in Italy in three classes.
- The decision paper sets register and owner, and names the open point on a company in formation.
- The domicile is elected in Italy with a PEC; the list is drafted by Nice class.
- With no Italian digital identity, the file goes on paper at a chamber or through an agent.
- Government tax EUR 169, stamps and chamber fee apart (Milan chamber); the payment day is the filing date.
- The calendar holds observations, opposition, use within five years and renewal after ten.
From our practice
, a worked example (not a client case):**
Frequently asked questions
Who should hold the mark when a foreign group opens an Italian company: the parent, the Italian company or a holding?
The statute sets the hooks and the choice is made with you. The applicant uses the mark, or intends to, in its own business, in one it controls or in one using it with its consent (Art. 19 CPI). The mark can move later by a transfer recorded at UIBM (Art. 138 CPI), and its tax treatment follows the owner.
Can a non-EU company or founder register a trade mark in Italy?
Yes. Art. 19 CPI sets no residence condition, and UIBM also checks the applicant conditions listed in Art. 170(1)(a) CPI. Every application elects a domicile in an EU or EEA state, and a business gives a PEC (Art. 147 CPI). Without a digital identity for the online portal, an owner files on paper or through an agent.
Do we need an Italian agent or lawyer, and does FormaItalia file the mark?
Representation before UIBM is optional: a company may act through its own employee or a linked company's (Art. 201(1) CPI). An outside agent is on the consultants' roll or a lawyer. We are neither: we prepare the file and coordinate. Before EUIPO, a non-EEA owner is represented after filing, unless an economically connected EEA company's employee acts (Art. 119(3) EUTMR).
Can the mark be filed before the Italian company exists?
The founder or the parent can apply first and transfer the mark to the company later, with the transfer recorded at UIBM (Art. 138 CPI). The filing date is the day the fee is paid (MIMIT), and conflicts are judged at that date. Whether a company in formation can itself apply is a point to confirm with a registered consultant.
How much does it cost to trademark a name in Italy?
Our work is priced on request. The state charges EUR 101 for one class plus EUR 34 for each further class, and EUR 67 plus EUR 34 to renew (Milan chamber). Online filings add a stamp duty confirmed on the UIBM portal; paper adds the chamber fee and stamps. EUIPO: EUR 850 electronically for one class (Annex I EUTMR).
How long does it take to register a trademark in Italy?
No official source gives a total, and we promise no date. The law fixes windows: at least two months to answer a deficiency notice (Art. 173 CPI), a peremptory three months for opposition (Art. 176 CPI) and, if opposed, two months to notify it and a two-month conciliation period (Art. 178 CPI).
Can you register a trademark internationally?
Yes, through the Madrid system. It starts from an identical Italian or EU basic mark, and the application goes through the office that holds it, UIBM or EUIPO, which forwards it to WIPO. Filed through UIBM, the Italian basic fee is EUR 135 plus EUR 34 for a letter of appointment (UIBM tariff page); WIPO charges its own fees.
How to register an EU trademark?
At EUIPO (Art. 30 EUTMR), electronically per the Milan chamber; no national filing comes first. The application is in an official EU language, with a second from English, French, German, Italian and Spanish (Art. 146). The filing date holds if the fee is paid within one month (Art. 32), and a ground in part of the Union stops it all.
National, EU or international: which register fits a group?
The choice is made with you. A national mark is protected by the office of the country where it is filed (Milan chamber). An EU mark is one right for the Union; if it fails, conversion into national applications keeps the date except where a ground applies (Arts. 139 and 140 EUTMR). Madrid needs a basic national or EU mark.
How to register a brand in Italy?
Decide the register and owner, search for earlier marks, then prepare the file: the applicant's details, an EU or EEA domicile, a clear representation of the mark and the goods and services by Nice class (MIMIT). File online with a digital identity, on paper at a chamber, by post or through an agent, and pay by F24 or pagoPA.
How can I check a trademark in Italy?
UIBM provides databases for searching trade marks and other industrial-property titles. It does not search for earlier marks when it examines an application: it checks absolute grounds only (Art. 170 CPI), and an earlier owner raises a conflict by opposition or a later action. The clearance search is therefore the owner's job, or its agent's, before the filing.
Can the Italian company license the mark to other group companies, and must it be used?
A national mark can be licensed for part of its goods, services or Italy, also non-exclusively (Art. 23(2) CPI); a non-exclusive licensee undertakes to use it for goods or services equal to those the owner or licensees market in Italy under it. An EU mark likewise, for part of the Union (Art. 25 EUTMR). Use is due within five years.
How are the state fees paid from abroad?
By F24 with tax code C302, through pagoPA, or from abroad by a euro transfer to the Treasury account held at the Banca d'Italia (UIBM tariff page). The filing date is the day the fee is paid. UIBM warns of fraudulent payment requests in its managers' names: pay only through the channels it publishes.
Can a trade mark be filed at the Milan Chamber of Commerce?
Yes, on paper. Any Chamber of Commerce takes the form, Milan included (MIMIT). The Milan chamber charges a EUR 40 secretarial fee for the filing alone, the form carries EUR 16 stamps, one per four pages, and the F24 is issued at the counter. The applicant, its employee or an agent files it, never FormaItalia.
Ready to plan where your mark is filed, by whom and when?
One conversation sets out the register, the owner and the order of steps, before any fee is paid. Pricing on request.