Italian Copyright Reforms - Back to The Future

The Italian legislator has finally fully implemented the European Community Directive 93/98 on the Harmonisation of the Duration of Copyright Protection and Other Related Rights.

Law no. 52/96 the Italian Legislature has allowed the government to enact laws implementing the abovementioned directive, with the result that the duration of proprietary rights for authors of artistic works was extended from fifty years to seventy years after the death of the author.

Now, with the recent Decree no.154/97 the government has clarified the points which up until now had remained somewhat obscure, eliminating the existing differences between the provisions of the abovementioned Community Directive and Italian law regarding the scope and duration of the protection, and introducing detailed rules in this regard.