The franchise agreements must comply with Commission Regulation (EU) No 330/2010 of 20 April 2010 on the application of Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices. The Regulation applies to agreements for the sale and purchase of goods or services which are entered into between companies operating at different levels of production or distribution chains (“vertical agreements”) such as distribution, supply, franchising agreements. Social share

“«Creative character» and «artistic value» of design works” Marella Naj-Oleari’s comment regarding a recent decision issued by the Court of Milan, September 13, 2012 regarding design protection in Italy (Sistema Società, 26 Febbraio 2013) Read the article in Italian or a summary in English [PDF].           photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/59810064@N07/5646148706/   Social share

The Court of Rimini (ruling no. 872/2012) rejected the Longoni Sport SpA in “extraordinary administration” (Giacomelli Group) claim to recover more than € 3.3 million paid to an international network currently comprising 250 sports shops in Italy, assisted by Scarpellini Naj-Oleari & Partners. The Court held that the trustee of the bankruptcy did not provide any evidence to demonstrate the condition of scientia decotionis, requested by art. 67, paragraph 2, Italian Bankruptcy Law. Social share

The use of trademarks in social media (social network, blogs, file sharing sites etc.) is becoming more and more important both with the use of trademarks by the owner and the use of trademarks by unauthorized third parties. Social share

The concession of space inside a department store (in Italian called “affidamento di reparto”) was expressly provided by art. 41, para. 14 of the D.M. 375/88 which stated that the holder of a department store organized on multiple spaces may grant one or more of these spaces to another person in order to manage on his own this space for an agreed period of time, giving immediate notice to the Chamber of Commerce, the Municipality and the VAT office. Though this provision has been abolished, several regional laws use this description, but it remains rather difficult to give to this agreement a

L’apertura degli esercizi commerciali nelle giornate domenicali e festive è oggetto, oramai da un oltre un decennio, di un acceso dibattito, sia a livello politico sia a livello giurisprudenziale, soprattutto a seguito dell’entrata in vigore del Legge Bersani (d. lgsl. 114/98) che avrebbe dovuto “liberalizzare” la materia del commercio. Social share

Art. 2560 II Comma of the Italian Civil Code provides that in case of assignment of the company, the purchaser is jointly liable with the seller for debts incurred during the carrying out of the business, if those debts are on the obligatory account books. It is a mandatory norm, which therefore besides operating independently from the will of the parties to the purchase (seller and purchaser), cannot even be avoided by the parties if the contrary or something different is agreed upon by contract. Indeed, more often than one would imagine, it happens to read clauses such as: “the credits and d

The Court of Milan granted a preliminary injunction to a cosmetics and parapharmaceutical products distribution company despite the fact that the competitor had prior registered an identical Community Trademark. In fact, according to the Court, the previous registration had been applied for with knowledge of the upcoming registration of an identical trade mark by the competitor, thence in bad faith. The trial originated with an urgent proceedings submitted by the company F. to the Court of Milan so as to obtain the immediate seizure and an injunction against the rival company M. which, accordi