The current Government is focusing on the new Growth Decree for:
- to encourage production made in Italy;
- to innovate the protection of Italian products;
- intervene on economic growth;
- stimulate economic recovery;
- increase private investment.
The Italian Government has decided to protect Made in Italy, punish illegal business, especially in the agri-food sector. The “made in” refers to the concept of origin and provenance but they are not the same thing.
- The origin is the place where a product was grown or was built;
- The provenance is the place from which a product is shipped.
The European law identifies the country of origin of a product with the requisites foreseen by the art.60 of the Union Customs Code.
The fight against product counterfeit goods was also introduced by Law 2009 No. 99, in which the new crime of counterfeiting of geographical indication or denomination of origin of agri-food sector products was formalized.
The intent was to to prevent and detect food fraud in the industry. For example, to use the Made-in-Italy brand on certain products. The crime occurs in case of falsification of the trademark on the product and in the case of sophistication – alteration – of the food by changing its characteristics from an organoleptic or biological point of view. Phenomenon of using Made-in-Italy and trying to obtain historic Italian brands is called Italian sounding.
The law for the protection of historic brands, made in Italy and Italian products. Italian sounding.
In recent years, around 500 historic companies have been sold to foreign brands. Large foreign companies that are also based outside Europe use the Made in Italy brand. So even the name of a historic Italian brand can be used for marketing purposes but without the product having anything like that with what was produced in Italy. This applies to both food products and industrial products.
Some of the new proposals of the Government for the protection of the Made in Italy brand are:
- the protection of historical brands;
- the fight against Italian sounding;
- the introduction of incentives linked to the deposit of new brands and patents made in Italy;
- the establishment of the historical mark of national interest;
- the establishment of the special register of historical trademarks of national interest at the Italian Patent and Trademark Office;
- specific economic resources dedicated to the trademarks registered in this register;
- the 50% tax credit on expenses related to the legal protection of Italian products.
Stop italian sounding
The new legislative decree punishes the illicit exploitation of Italian words or Italian brand names used only to attract a greater number of customers. It will no longer be possible to register a trademark in which words defined as “Italian sounding” are included. This category also includes all those figures or distinctive signs that can damage both the image and the reputation of Italy. The misleading use of counterfeit or non-manufactured products in Italy and all the elements that can evoke Italy has allowed many foreign companies to illegally exploit the reference between product and made in Italy, with the only one goal of increasing revenue from marketing by taking advantage of the unfair advantage over competing companies.
The new register for the historic brand of national interest
The new Growth Decree 2019 also concerns the historic brand of national interest. It is a register of physical or juridical persons who possess trade marks with over 50 years of activity since the opening of their business and have the certifications and documents to demonstrate the continuous use of the brand.
The register of historic companies of national interest allows Italian companies that own historic brands to overcome a period of crisis. After being entered in the register, the historic company will be able to obtain subsidized loans, in order to overcome the period of crisis and not be forced to sell off the brand to foreign companies, which have nothing to do with the Made in Italy.
However, historic companies in crisis cannot be banned from looking for buyers, but in the event of bankruptcy, the State can control and reassign the historic brand.
Incentives for young Start-ups. The new simple investment company (Italian SIS)
- About this type of company:
- SIS can only be used in start-up companies;
- it cannot be listed on the stock exchange;
- It has tax exemption for income generated by shares owned in startups;
- the SIS can be set up with a maximum capital of € 25 million, but with a specific corporate purpose;
- it can be composed by professional investors and business angels.
Who is the Business Angel
The business angel is a natural person who finances the Start-Up project with capital, experience, knowledge and contacts. Unlike investment funds, the business angel invests resources in Start-ups, with a social motivation that is not only financial.
The law firm for the protection of the Italian production brand
The growth decree aims to encourage private production, focusing on the added value of “Made in Italy” know-how. This is also why every historic Italian brand or every new brand that focuses on the qualitative characteristics of Made in Italy can obtain substantial financial resources and be assisted by our law firm.
