Injunction u-turn suggests stringent inventiveness requirement

In Soc Milo v Preston Innovations Ltd the Tribunal of Turin has revoked an earlier injunction which had been granted to a UK company.

Preston Innovations Ltd succeeded in obtaining a preliminary injunction against Soc Milo and others for alleged infringement of an Italian utility model application corresponding to UK Patent 2394505 B concerning a “slidable and rotatable clamp arrangement for an angler’s seat box”.

However, after the respondent lodged an appeal, the court revoked the injunction. The court held that that the utility model patent to be granted on the pending application lacked sufficient inventive level to justify a valid grant.

The decision indicates that more stringent standards are to be expected from the Italian courts in evaluating the inventiveness requirement that must be met for the validity of utility model patents in Italy.