Italian Copyright Law – IP Law Watch

Legal Works as Creative Works: The Original Decision of the Court of Venice

Jun 15 2015

In March, the IP Court of Venice (Court) provided a unique ruling on copyright law.

The Court ruled on an issue concerning the application of Italian copyright laws to protect a legal work created by a lawyer works.

A lawyer (Plaintiff) sued an entity (Entity), which was organizing an exposition for the infringement of Plaintiff’s moral rights due to the non-authorized use of a document containing IP policy guidelines (Document) to be distributed among the exhibitors, which entirely reproduced a document drafted years ago by the Plaintiff for another entity.

Do not use Audrey Hepburn’s Iconic Elements

Mar 24 2015

That’s what the Court of Milan has stated on January 21, 2015 (judgment no.766/2015)!

This dispute originated with the use by an Italian company, Caleffi S.p.A. (Caleffi), of an image recalling the famous scene from ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ in which the actress, well-dressed in black, wearing sunglasses and pearls, was staring into the window of Tiffany’s Fifth Avenue boutique. Caleffi was promoting the prize contest ‘The dream diamond’. Audrey Hepburn’s heirs sued Caleffi and brought before the Court of Milan (Court) an action for damages based on the claimed violation of article 10 of the Italian Civil Code, on the use of the images of a person, and article 96 of Italian Copyright Law, on the protection of portraits.\

Tag:Italian Copyright Law