Patent: In order to get an object patented in Italy is it sufficient to check that nothing of the kind has been patented there, or is it necessary to take some other precautions?

In order to get an object patented in Italy is it sufficient to check that nothing of the kind has been patented there, or is it necessary to take some other precautions?

Before applying for a patent, it is advisable to check that the object, for which the protection is requested, is really new. Even though such a search is not compulsory, it is often recommendable, especially if the intention is to personally produce and commercialise the product, as the Italian Patents and Trademarks Office do no check on the novelty.

This search, though, is not only to be done in Italy, but Internationally, even if the decision is to file the application only in Italy. In order for the patent to be valid, it is essential that it does not exist in any part of the world, both as a form of another patent, and as an object freely commercialized, but without any industrial patent. In theory, before filing for a patent, a search should be done on similar patented products and also a market research to evaluate the existence, in the market, of similar items. Obviously such a pursuit is complex and cannot be thoroughly done; usually we limit ourselves to search on the data banks for International patents, leaving out the commercial aspect.

In most cases, the compensation revenge always comes from whoever has filed patents previously, whilst the pre-existence on the market of an identical item and not patented, could be used as a way to annulling the possible granted patent.