THE “MADE IN ITALY” LAW

Law No. 206 of 2023, known as the "Made in Italy” Law, came into force on 11 January 2024. It promotes the outstanding areas of production and the development of strategic national Made in Italy supply chains, also through specific rules dedicated to preventing and combating the counterfeit market, as provided for in Title V - Protection of Made in Italy products - Chapter III - Fight against counterfeiting.

Focus: The fight against counterfeiting in the “Made in Italy” Law

Articles 49-56 of the 'Made in Italy' Law contain a set of regulatory provisions aimed at strengthening anti-counterfeiting measures, by:

• extending the competencies of district prosecutors to exercise the functions of the Public Prosecutor in cases of counterfeiting of Geographical Indications or Designations of Origin of agri-food products (art. 49);
• identifying specific training areas for legal practitioners (art. 50);
• increasing the deterrent effect of financial penalties against purchasers of counterfeit products (art. 51);
• extending the crime of selling industrial products with misleading signs to those who hold the products for sale (Art. 52)
• allowing the legal authorities to order the seizure of one or more samples and the destruction of the remaining goods, when they are difficult to store or particularly onerous or dangerous to safety, health or public hygiene (art. 53);
• simplifying the procedure for formally recording the inventory of seized counterfeit goods (art. 54);
• extending the regulation of undercover operations to include the repression of the crime of counterfeiting Geographical Indications or Designations of Origin of agri-food products (art. 55);
• revoking or refusing to renew a residence permit, in cases where the foreign national has been convicted of counterfeiting offences (art. 56).

During 2024, the DGPI-UIBM began monitoring the progress of implementation of these regulatory provisions, also involving the members of the “National Council for the Fight against Counterfeiting and Italian Sounding” (CNALCIS) who have direct responsibility for implementing the anti-counterfeiting rules set out in arts. 49-56 of the 'Made in Italy' Law.

The main outcomes of the implementation of arts. 49-56 of the 'Made in Italy Law:

Period: 11 January (date of entry into force of the law) to 31 December 2024

• A total of 3,616 cases of application of the anti-counterfeiting provisions contained in Articles 49-56 of the law were recorded.
• In particular, there were 166 cases in which the judicial authorities ordered the destruction of seized fake goods, and 3,431 applications of the new provision on financial penalties.
• In implementation of art. 50 “Measures for the specialised training of legal practitioners” applied directly by MIMIT, in 2024 the DGPI-UIBM established a joint Technical Table with the Ministry of Justice, in order to identify matters related to the fight against counterfeiting to be included in the annual training program for the judiciary.