Case Studies Archive - Ufficio Brevetti EN

I have found out that one of my competitors has copied the internet pages of my site, reproducing the texts as they are. Is it possible to force him to cancel them?

The texts inserted on the web are protected by the law on copyright like all the other texts published in the traditional way, therefore the author claims, on the Internet pages, the rights as stated by the law. In particular, as the authors of the text, you have the sole right to use and modify […]

I am a programmer of html pages and asp. At the moment I have made a serial of pages for the management of a database using the web business intranet and the browser. The asp pages cannot be compiled; therefore anyone having access to it can get the code, re-use it or modify it. How can I demonstrate to be the maker of the code/adopted solutions? How can I protect myself against a firm copying the first installation and then installing it by another programmer, who, after copying mine, will adapt it and then re-use it?

This case is rather complex. First of all, you need to properly evaluate if whatever has been achieved is, or not, a work protected by the law on copyright, or if it is simply a mere compilation with very little creation. If the made pages are really simple and anyone could make them without any […]

I have in mind to make a site where the visitors can place bets and can participate to a prize game. I would like to know what I can do to get the exclusivity and if I have to ask any authorisations to do this.

The idea of making an Internet site offering a particular service cannot be protected as the idea per se, whilst it is surely possible to get exclusive rights over the type of site that will be created, preventing others to reproduce the graphics, texts and the main setting-outs. Besides, in this specific case, it appears […]

We are a firm producing businesses programmes. One of our ex-workers, after resigning a few months ago, has started working for a competitor company which, strangely, has started selling a programme very similar to one created by us. Is it possible to stop the plagiarism of the software? What can we actually do?

The law on copyright, following the modification made by the regulation n. 518/1992 first and the law 248/2000 afterwards, undoubtedly protects the programs for the computer, this beyond any discussions about their possible patenting. So, if a firm has made an innovative programme, feels that the one of a competitor is similar, can surely go […]

We presented at an exhibition an internet site and now, a competitor firm has practically copied it. Shortly after we deposited it at the SIAE, but now what can we actually do to stop the plagiarism?

Considering that, obviously, two Internet sites having the same subject or the same service can co-exist, as it is not possible to claim the exclusivity on the type of dealt business, the main problem is to evaluate if in effect the two sites have been copied one from the other as there are no parameters […]

I have made an internet site where I describe the habits of a certain dog’s breed. Now, to my surprise, i have found out that a “friend” of mine has copied most of the contents and has built a site very similar to mine. What can i do to stop him?

The Internet site, if innovative and original, must be considered an intellectual work and, as such, is protected by the law on copyright. Without getting into the merit of judicial complex discussions related to the type of right emerging from the site as is, it is correct to say that the publishing of a text […]

I have realised an informative internet site and I would like to insert the mark of another site and a link to it, so to supply the visitors with further information on the subject. Must I ask for authorisation from the owner of the other site or can I freely do it?

There are a lot of disserting opinions over the link. This consists in a cross-reference, from one Internet page to another page of the web, allowing the user to easily move in the web from one space to another. However, even though this is a technical tool necessary to the navigation, in fact this operates […]

I have found out by chance that one of my employees has registered the trademark, in Spain, of one of our products. We have never even thought of registering it in Italy, can we do something against him?

The regulation on trademarks, unlike the one on patents, does not control the registration of company marks by employees, as the mark is commercial to be used by a company and if this use does not happen within a certain period of time, whoever has registered it loses all the rights over it. In this […]

I commissioned to a graphic some sketches for an advertising campaign and I used them for an internet site. Now I would like to use them also for some headed paper and for the packages for my products, but the graphic says that the rights are his and I cannot do it. Is it true?

The question related to the works created on commission is very controversial and, usually, the only solution to establish what are the actual rights of the parties is the interpretation of the contract agreed between them. Therefore, it is always advisable to write the various agreements so that compensation and ways of exploitation of the […]

After having registered a trademark for hotel services, I discovered by chance that the name was the same as that of a well-known magazine of a certain province. I would like to know if the owner of the heading of the magazine could bring an action against me.

The problem in this case refers to the relation between a sign registered as a trademark and others registered at a prior date. The law on copyright ex art n. 100, shields the name of a magazine, therefore nobody can use that same name for other editorial products until that name is used and for […]