How can a fantasy character be protected? Can its name be registered?
Theoretically, as the law on copyright protects the fantasy characters of the comics, the law protection is enforced as soon as they are realized, without fulfilling any other formalities, therefore, in theory, what is said about the fact of affixing the circled C for copyright is not all false.
However, without a registration there can be problems of ownership, above all regarding the proof to be supplied for having been the first ones to make a certain comic. In such cases we go against publishing houses who have strong capitals to spend and don’t easily stop at anything, whilst for the authors the legal costs can be too much and they can risk of losing even though they are right.
On the other hand, if care is taken to simply deposit at the SIAE your own characters, at a low cost not only you have the ownership proof but also you avoid any future legal battles. Regarding the name of the character, that can also be registered, but then, besides indicating the name of it in the documents deposited at the SIAE, it is advisable to apply for a specific trademark at the Italian Patents and Trademarks Office.