Made in Italy: the New Anticounterfeiting Measures

• Publication year: 2024
• Citation: Vol. 1 No. 4

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Pietro Fioruzzi, Giulia Checcacci, Giuseppe Scassellati-Sforzolini, Marco Accorroni, and Paola Maria Onorato ^*

In this article, the authors examine a new Italian law intended to combat counterfeiting of "Made in Italy" products.

Law No. 206 of December 27, 2023 (the Law), which introduces several provisions "for the enhancement, promotion and protection of made in Italy," is now in force.

The Law contains new measures to combat counterfeiting of "Made in Italy" products, including:

■ Broadening the scope of the offense of "Sale of industrial products with misleading signs" (provided for by Article 517 of the Italian Criminal Code, the ICC, which is a predicate offense for the administrative liability of entities under Article 25-bis.1, Legislative Decree No. 231 of June 8, 2001);
■ Increasing the tools available to the investigating authorities (for instance, allowing undercover operations in cases of "Counterfeiting of geographical indications or designation of origin of agri-food products" under Article 517-quater of the ICC); and
■ Amending Article 260 of the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure on the destruction of seized goods.

The New Anticounterfeiting Measures

The Law contains, among others, the measures to "combat counterfeiting" ¹ described below, aimed at strengthening the protection of Made in Italy products.

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Amendment of the Offense of "Sale of Industrial Products with False Signs" ²

The Law has extended the scope of the offense set forth in Article 517 of the ICC, entitled "Sale of industrial products with misleading signs." This offense, which was originally aimed at punishing only the conduct of selling and distributing "intellectual works or industrial products with names, trademarks or distinctive signs . . . that are capable to mislead the buyer as to their origin, provenance or quality," now expressly includes the conduct of those who "hold" those works or products "for the purpose of selling."

The purpose of this amendment is to bring this offense into line with other similar ones, ³ including the offense under Article 474, paragraph 2, of the ICC, which punishes those who hold "industrial products with . . . trademarks or other distinctive signs that are counterfeit or altered" in order to sell them. ⁴

The Law has thus aligned with the Italian Court of Cassation's case law, according to which the conduct of the holder of products falls under Article 517 of the ICC based on the general provision on...