Luigi Carlo Ubertazzi
Questo scritto riprende, amplia in larga misura ed ha conservato lo stile discorsivo di una relazione tenuta il 26.6.2004 al convegno su L’enforcement dei diritti di proprietà intellettuale: profili sostanziali e processuali, organizzato dall’Università degli studi di Palermo, e sarà poi ripubblicato con alcune modifiche negli atti del convegno
Italian Law 12/12/2002, n. 273 [0] as implemented through the Legislative Decree 168/2003 [1] has created "specialized sections" for IP-related matters in the courts (both first and second level) of Bari, Bologna, Catania, Firenze, Genova, Milano, Napoli, Palermo, Roma, Torino, Trieste and Venezia. These sections "deal with cases of national and communitarian trademarks, patents for inventions and new plant varieties, utility models, pictures and models, author rights and all cases of unfair competition when these cases interfere with the protection of industrial and intellectual property". This paper discusses the different positions of Italian law scholars and lawyers as to
whether the list of subjects, on which the specialized sections are competent as written
in the law, is intensive or extensive - in other words, whether the specialized sections
should take care *only* of the matters that the law clearly specifies, or whether they
should take care of everything "related to" intellectual and industrial property. In this
paper several justifications are made for giving full responsibility to IP sections over
all law cases dealing with intellectual property (extensive interpretation), together
with a rebuttal of the most relevant positions advocating an intensive interpretation of
the law.
