The new European patent system – Entry into force
In 2012, in order to simplify and improve the European patent system, two EU Regulations (No. 1257/2012 and No. 1260/2012, the “Regulations”) were enacted, which established the European Patent with Unitary Effect (“Unitary Patent”), as well as the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court (“Agreement”), which introduced the Unified Patent Court (“Unified Court” and/or “UPT”) with exclusive jurisdiction over Unitary Patents. The transitional rules provided for in the Agreement, however, give European patent holders the option to remove each patent from the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court before the new jurisdictional system becomes operational, during the so-called ‘sunrise period’. In this regard, it should be noted that a note signed by the President of the TUB Court of Appeal and the President of the TUB Administrative Committee (https://uibm.mise.gov.it/index.php/it/brevetti/brevetto-europeocon-effetto-unitario) announced that the original schedule, which envisaged the entry into force of the Agreement on 1 April 2023, has been modified in order to allow an additional two months for the necessary fulfilments. Consequently, the sunrise period will start on 1 March 2023 (and no longer on 1 January) and the start of the unitary patent system will take place on 1 June 2023 (and no longer on 1 April).
The first Italian case law rulings on the subject of NFT trace an important interpretative path
The Seventeenth Civil Business Section of the Court of Rome was the protagonist of one of the first European rulings issued on the subject of NFT and metaverse. Although there is still no unitary definition of NFT (non-fungible token), the recent precautionary order of 20 July 2022 issued by the aforementioned judicial body stands as a guarantor of a discipline dedicated to this specific type of virtual assets. In detail, the well-known football club Juventus Football Club charged the defendant company with the conduct of trademark infringement and unfair competition, consisting in the unauthorised use of the word marks “Juventus” and “Juve”, as well as of the figurative mark corresponding to the black and white vertical striped jersey with two stars on the chest, for the production, marketing and online promotion of NFT digital playing cards, depicting a well-known former player with the jersey and the team name. These denominative and figurative marks are distinctive and characterising elements of the merchandising activity carried out by Juventus Football Club S.p.A., which operates in various sectors through physical shops located throughout Italy and websites accessible worldwide.
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Streaming platforms, privacy by design and the design of processing – application guidelines in Europe
The principle of Privacy by Design was made explicit by the European legislator in Article 25(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, General Data Protection Regulation, (‘GDPR’). This principle lays down very precise obligations for all those who decide on the purposes and methods of the processing of personal data, i.e. data controllers, whatever the market in which they operate. Exemplary of the scope of the principle of Privacy by Design is the sanctioning measure adopted on 3 November 2022 by the Spanish Supervisory Authority – Agencia Espanola de Proteccion de Datos (‘AEPD’) – against the company BURWEBS S.L., which operates the adult film streaming platform www.muyzorraz.com. In order to ensure the effective access of workers to wage protection, the Directive places the onus on the Member States to adopt the necessary measures to this end, which provide, in particular, for effective controls and inspections as well as measures contributing to developing the capacity of the authorities responsible for monitoring the application of minimum wages by employers. The central role of the social partners in determining and updating legal minimum wages is also affirmed, as well as their necessary participation in identifying measures to ensure workers’ effective access to legal minimum wages. In conclusion, the directive does not seek to harmonise the level of minimum wages in the Union or to establish a uniform mechanism for determining them. It aims to ensure the adequacy of wages while leaving Member States free to set statutory minimum wages or to promote access to minimum wage protection provided by collective agreements, in line with national law and practice.
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Methods for dealing with cyber threats and the new D.O.R.A. Regulation
As is well known, the development of digital platforms used in both the productive/professional context has increased the risks to which users, understood as both individuals and companies, are exposed, and which have serious consequences in terms of damage to image and reputation, financial losses, and of course the violation of personal data and the illicit use of confidential information.
For this reason, states all over the world are developing newer and newer cybersecurity practices in order to counter the increased risks for those working in the digital world. Cybersecurity refers to the protection of systems connected to the Internet, such as hardware, software and data, from so-called cyber threats. It is mainly used by private individuals and companies to protect against unauthorised access to data centres by outsiders or the now notorious cyber criminals. The choice of the term ‘security’ is not accidental: computer security or cybersecurity protects data and information from malicious software, also known as malware, and, more generally, from cyber threats such as, for instance, hacker attacks and DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, the latter having the purpose of rendering a website or online service unserviceable by overloading it with access requests and spam originating from various sources. This term therefore refers to data and information contained in a computer, network, or devices in general.
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Italy
