How are decorative objects protected at International level?
In order to protect these creations, one should file an application for registration of a design or a model attaching pictures or drawings reproducing the decorative object in a way to highlight all the aesthetic aspects characterizing it. It is possible to file a patent first in Italy and then abroad within six months claiming the priority, that is backdating the foreign filing to the date in which it was filed in Italy, or filing an international patent in the first place choosing the interested countries.
This second type of patent is filed at the WIPO (World Intellectual Propriety Organization) based in Switzerland and, according to the Act of 1960and to The Hague Treaty, has effect in all the countries that are indicated by the applicant among which there are Bulgaria, Benelux, Switzerland, Germany, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Munich and others, even if some important countries such as the U.K. or the U.S. are not included. Anyway, in the countries which did not join the Agreement it is possible to file an application for registration of a national design, paying the related taxes. Using the filing procedure foreseen for the national design is really convenient both for the usage of a single bureaucratic procedure and for the rather moderate price.