WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE 
ORGANIZACION MUNDIAL DEL CO:MERCIO 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights IP/N/I/ITA/C/l 
21 March 1996 
(96-1031) 
Original: English! 
anglais/ 
ingIes 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS AND 
REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 
OF THE AGREEMENT 
The present document reproduces 1 Law No. 633 of 22 April 1941 for the Protection of Copyright 
and Other Rights Connected with the Exercise Thereof (Copyright Statute) as amended up to 
16 November 1995, as notified by Italy under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document 
IP/N/l/ITA/l). 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriete 
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET REGLEMENTATIONS CONSACREES A LA 
PROPRIETE INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIEES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
Le present document contientl le texte de la Loi n· 633 du 22 avril 1941 sur la protection du 
droit d'auteur et des autres droits en rapport avec l'exercice dudit droit (Loi sur le droit d'auteur), 
telle qu'elle a ete modifiee jusqu'au 16 novembre 1995, notifiee par l'ltalie au titre de l'article 63:2 
de l' Accord (voir le document IP/N/l/ITA/l). 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA 
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD 
DEL pARRAFO 2 DEL ARTICULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
En el presente documento se reproduce 1 la Ley N° 633 de Protecci6n del Derecho de Autor 
y de otros derechos relacionados con su ejercicio (Estatuto del Derecho de Autor), de 22 de abril 
de 1941, con sus modificaciones hasta el 16 de noviembre de 1995, notificada por Italia en virtud de 
10 dispuesto en el parrafo 2 del articulo 63 del Acuerdo (vease el documento IP/N/l/ITA/l). 
lIn English only/En anglais seulementlEn ingles solamente. IP/N/l/IT A/ell 
Page 2 
COPYRIGHT STATUTE 
Law No. 633 of April 22, 1941, for the Protection of Copyright and Other Rights 
Connected with the Exercise Thereof 
(as amended up to November 16, 1994) 
Part I 
PROVISIONS RELATING TO COPYRIGHT 
CHAPTER I 
Work Protected 
Article 1 
Intellectual works having a creative character and appertaining to literature, 
mu~~ic, the graphic arts, architecture, the theatre and cinematography, whatever 
the!: mode or form of expression, shall be protected according to this Law. 
Computer programs shall further be protee.ted as literary works, pursuant to 
the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which was 
ratified and enforced by Law no. 399 of June 20, 1978. 
Article 2 
. In particular the following shall be protected: 
1) literary, dr"matic, scientific, didactic and religious works, whether in written or 
oral form; 
2) musical works and compositions, with or without word&, dramatico-musical works, 
and musical variations which con:=;titute original works; 
3) choreographic works and pantomimes, the acting form of which is fixed in writing 
or otherwise; . 
4) works of sculpture, painting, drawing, engraving and similar graphic arts, 
including scenic art, even when such works are applied to an industrial product if 
their artistic value is distinct from the industrial character of the product with which 
they are associated; 
5) architectural plans Cind works; 
6) works of cinematographic art, whether in silent or sound fC'rm, provided they are 
not oere documentaries protected in accordance with the provisions of Chapter V 
of Part 11. . 
7) works of photographic art and those espressed with processes analogous to 
phutograph, provided that it is not a simple photograph protected according to the provisions of Chapter Vof Part 11. IP/N/1/ITA/C/1 
Page 3 
8) computer programs, whatever may be the form of their expression, provided they 
are an original work as resulting from the author's intellectual creation. The 
protection provided by this law shall not apply to ideas and principles underlying 
any program component, including those underlying the interfaces thereof. 
"Program" shall also mean preparatory materials used for developing the said 
program. 
Article 3 
Collective works formed by the assembling of works, or part of works, and 
possessing the character of a self-contained creation resulting from selection and 
co-ordinator for a specific literary, scientific, didactic, religious, political or artistic 
purpose, such as encyclopaedias, dictionaries, anthologies, magazines and 
newspapers, shall be protected as original works, independently of and without 
prejudice to any copyright subsisting in the constituent works or parts thereof. 
Article 4 
Without prejudice to the rights subsisting in the original work, elaborations of 
a creative character of any such work, such as translations into another language, 
transformations into any other literary or artistic form, modifications and additions 
constituting a substantial recasting of the original work, adaptions, reductions, 
abridgements and variations which do not constitute an original work, shall also be 
protected. 
The provisions of this Law shall not apply to the texts of official acts of the 
State or of public administrations, whether Italian or foreign. 
CHAPTER 11 
SUBJECTS OF THE RIGHT 
Article 6 
Copyright shall be acquired by creation of a work resulting from an intellectual 
effort. 
Article 7 
In the case of a collective work, the person who organizes and directs its 
creation shall be deemed to be the author. IP/N/lIITA/C/l 
Page 4 
Within the limits of his contribution, the person who has elaborated a work 
shall be deemed to be the author of such elaboration. 
Article 8 
The person who, in the customary manner, is indicated as author, or is 
announced as such in the course of the recitation, performance or broadcasting of 
a work shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to be the author 
of the work. 
Any pseudonym, professional name, initials or customary sign, well known as 
being equivalent to a true name, shall be deemed to have the same value as such 
true name. 
Article 9 
Any person who has performed or in any manner published an anonymous or 
pseud9nymous work shall be entitled to assert the rights of the author reveals his 
identity. 
This provision shall not apply in the second paragraph of the preceding 
Article. 
Article 10 
If the work has been created by the indistinguishable and inseparable 
contributions of two or more persons, the copyright shall belong to all the co­
authors in the common. 
In the absence of proof of a written agreement to the contrary, the undivided 
portions shall be presumed to be of equal value. 
The provisions which regulate property owned in common shall be applicable. 
Moreover, defense of the moral right may, at any time, be exercised individually by 
any co-author; and the work, if unpublished, may not be published, nor may it be 
modified or utilized in a form differing from that of first publication, without t,ha 
agreement of all the co-authors. However, in the case of unjustified refusal bY'one 
or more co-authors, publication, modification or new utilization of the work may be 
authorized by the judicial authority upon such conditions and terms as that authority 
may order. 
Article 11 
Copyright in works created and published under the name, on the account, IPINIl/IT AICll 
Page 5 
and at the expense of the State, the Provinces and Communes shall belong to 
them. 
In the absence of agreement to the contrary with the authors of the works 
published, a like right shall also belong to private legal entities of a non-profit 
character, as well as to Academies and other public cultural organisations, in 
respect of collections of their proceedings and their publications. 
CHAPTER III 
EXTENT AND DURATION OF COPYRIGHT 
SECTION I 
PROTECTION OF ECONOMIC UTILIZATION OF THE WORK 
Article 12 
The author shall have the exclusive right to publish his work. 
He shall, in addition, have the exclusive right to the economic utilization of the 
work in any form or manner, whether original or derivative, within the limits fixed by 
this Law, and especially as regards the exercise of the exclusive rights indicated in 
the following Articles. 
The first form of exercise of the right of utilization shall be considered to be the 
first publication. 
Article 12 bis 
In the absence of any contrary stipulation, if a computer program was created 
by an employee in the performance of his tasks, or upon instructions given by the 
employer, the latter shall have the exclusive right to the economic utilization of the 
program thus created. . 
Article 13 
The exclusive right of reproduction has for its object the multiplication of 
copies of the work by any means, such as handcopying, printing, lithography, 
engraving, photography, phonography, cinematography, and any other process of 
reproducti on. 
Article 14 
The exclusive right to transcribe has for its object the use of means suitable 
for transforming an oral work into a written work or into a work reproduced by one 
of the methods indicated in the preceding Article. IP/N/1/ITA/C/1 
Page 6 
ArticlE~ 15 
. The exclusive right of public perfornlance or recitation has for its object the 
performance or recitation however effected, and with or without payment, of a 
musical, dramatic or cinematographic work, of any other work suitable for public 
exhibition, and of oral works. 
The performance or recitation of a 'work within the normal family circle, or 
within a college, school, or institute of retreat or treatment, provided it is not given 
with gainful intent, shall not be deemed to be public performance or recitation. 
Article 16 
The exclusive right of diffusion has for its object the use of any means of 
diffusion over a distance, such as telegraphy, telephony, radio or television 
broadcasting, and other analogous means. 
Article 17 
Th8 exclusive right of distribution has for its object the right to commercialize, 
to circulate or, at all events, to make available to the public, whatever means and 
for whatever purpose, the work or the copies thereof, and shall include, in addition, 
the exclusive right to introduce, into the territory of the countries of the European 
Union, for purposes of distribution, copies of the work made in countries not 
members of the European Union. 
The delivery, free of charge, of copies of the work for advertising purposes or 
for teaching or sqientific research purposes, when carried out and allowed by the 
person entitled thereto, shall not be deemHd to be a form of exercise of exclusive 
right of distribution. 
Article 18 
. The exclusive right of translation has for its object the transl~tioh of the work 
into another language or dialect. 
.. The exClusive right of elaboration includes all forms of modification, 
elaboration and transformation of the work specified in Article 4 . 
. The author shall, in addition, have the exclusive right of publishing his 
works in a collection. 
Finally, he shall have the exclusive right of introducing any modification into 
the work. 
Article 18 bis 
The exclusive right of lease has for its object the granting of the use of the 
original works, of copies thereof or of supporting materials, protected by copyright, 
for a limited period of time and for the' purpose of achieving economic or IP/N/lIITA/C/1 
Page 7 
commercial benefits, whether directly or indirectly. 
The exclusive right of loan has for its object the granting of the use of the 
original works, of copies thereof or of supporting materials, protected by copyright, 
made by institutions open to the public, for a limited period of time and for purposes 
other than those as per paragraph 1. 
The author, even when granting the right of lease to a producer of 
phonograms or cinematographic or audiovisual works or of sequences of motion 
pictures, shall retain the right to obtain fair remuneration for the lease contract 
made by the said producer with third parties. 
Any contrary stipulation shall be void. 
Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not apply to plans or designs of buildings or to works 
of applied art. 
ArticlH 19 
The exclusive rights specified in the preceding Articles are independent of one 
another. The exercise of anyone of them shall not exclude the exercise of the other 
rights. 
They shall pertain to the work in its entirety and to each of its parts. 
SECTION 11 
PROTECTION OF RIGHTS IN THE WORK 
CONCERNING THE DEFENSE OF THE 
PERSONALITY OF THE AUTHOR 
(MORAL RIGHT OF THE AUTHOR) 
Article 20 
Independently of the exclusive rights of economic utilization of the work 
referred to in the provisions of the preceding Section, and even after the transfer 
of such rights, the author shall retain the right to claim authorship of the work arid 
to object to any distortion, mutilation or any other modification of, and other 
derogatory action in relation to, the said 'Nark, which would be prejudicial to his 
honor or reputation. 
However, in the case of works of architecture, the author may not oppose 
modifications found necessary in the course of construction. He may not, moreover, 
oppose other modifications which may be necessary in any such completed work. 
However, if the work is recognized by the competent State authority as hav'ing an 
important artistic character, the author shall be entrusted with the study and 
execution of such modifications. 
Article 21 IP/N/lIITA/C/1 
Page 8 
The author of an anonymous or pseudonymous work shall at all times have 
the right to reveal his identity and to have his position as author recognized by 
judicial procedure. 
Notwithstanding any prior agreement to the contrary, persons who have 
derived title from an author who has revealed his identity shall be required to 
indicate the name of the author in publications, reproductions, transcriptions, 
performances, recitations and diffusions, or in any other form of manifestation or 
announcement to the public. 
Article 22 
The rights indicated in the preceding Articles shall be inalienable. 
However, if the author was aware of and accepted modifications in his work, 
he shall not be entitled to intervene to prevent the performance thereof or to 
demand its suppression. 
Article 23 
After the death of the author, the right specified in Article 20 may be asserted, 
without limitation of time, by his spouse and children and, in the absence thereof, 
by his parents and other direct ascendants and descendants, by his brothers and 
sisters and their descendants. 
If the public interest should so require, such action may also be taken by the 
(Presidente del Consiglio) after hearing the competent syndical association. 
Article 24 
The right of publishing unpublished works shall belong to the heirs of the 
author or to the legatees of the particular works, unless the author has expressly 
forbidden publication or has entrusted it to other persons. 
When the author has fixed a period of time to precede publication; 
unpublished works shall not be published before the expiration thereof. 
When the persons indicated in the first paragraph are two or more in number 
and there is disagreement between them, the matter shall be decided by judicial 
authority after hearing the representative of the public interest. The wishes of the 
decea'sed person, when expressed in writing, shall in all cases be respected. 
The provisions contained in Part Ill, Chapter 11, Section 11, shall apply to such 
works. 
SECTION III 
DURATION OF RIGHTS OF ECONOMIC UTILIZATION OF A WORK 
Article 25 IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 9 
The rights of economic utilization of a work shall continue for the life of the 
author and until the termination of the fiftieth calendar year after his death. 
Article 26 
In the case of works indicated in Article 10, and of dramatico-musical and 
choreographic works and pantomimes, the duration of the rights of economic 
utilization belonging to each collaborator shall be determined in relation to the life 
of the last surviving co-author. 
In the case of collective works, the duration of the rights of economic 
utilization belonging to each collaborator shall be determined in relation to the 
respective lives of such collaborators. The duration of rights of economic utilization 
of the work as a whole shall be fifty years from the date of first publication, whatever 
the form in which publication was effected, except in the case of magazines, 
newspapers and other periodical works to which the prov.isions of Article 30 shall 
apply. 
Article 27 
In the case of anonymous or pseudonymous works other than those specified 
in the second paragraph of Article 8, the duration of the rights of economic 
utilization shall be fifty years from the date of first publication, whatever may be the 
form in which publication was effected. 
If, before the expiration of the said term, the author has revealed his identity, 
or his identity has been revealed by the persons indicated in Article 23 or by the 
persons authorized by the author, and in the manner established by the following 
Article, the term specified in Article 25 shall then apply. 
Article 27 bis 
The duration of the rights of economic utilization of computer programs 
pursuant to the provisions of this Part shall be computed, in each case, as of the 
1 st of January of the year following that in which the event occurred which is 
designated in the said provisions. 
Article 28 
In order to acquire the benefits or normal duration of the rights of economic 
utilization, the revelation of identity must be made by means of declaration to the 
Office of Literary, Scientific and Artistic Property (Ufficio della proprieta letteraria, 
scientifica ed artistica) of the Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers in 
accordance with the provisions established by the Regulations. 
The declaration of revelation shall be published in the form required by said 
provisions and shall, as regards third parties who have acquired rights in the work IP/N/lIITA/C/1 
Page 10 
in its anonymous or pseudonymous condition, have effects as from the date of its 
deposit. 
Article 29 
The duration of the rights of economic utilization belonging, within the terms 
of Article 11, to the State, the Provinces, the Communes, the Academies, or to 
public cultural organizations, or to private legal entities of a non-profit character, 
shall be twenty years from first publication was effected. In the case of 
communications and memoranda published by Academies and other public cultural 
organizations, such term shall be reduced to two years, after which the author shall 
wholly reacquire the right to the unrestricted disposal of his writings. 
Article 30 
When parts or volumes of a given work are published separately and at 
different times, the duration of the rights of economic utilization, when fixed in 
years, shall run from the year of publication of each part or volume. The author 
shall enjoy the benefit of fractions of years. 
In the case of collective periodical work, such as a magazine or newspaper, 
calculated from the end of the year of publication of the individual parts or numbers. 
Article 31 
In the case of works published for the first time after the death of the author, 
the duration of the rights of economic utilization shall be fifty years from first 
publication, irrespective of the place and form of such publication, provided 
publication occurs within twenty years from the death of the author. 
Article 32 
The rights of economic utilization of a cinematographic work shall continue for 
fifty years from the first public showing, provided this takes place not later than five 
years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was produced. If this 
period of five years is exceeded, protection shall continue for fifty years from the 
year following that in which the work was produced. 
Article 32 bis 
The rights of economic utilization of a photographic work shall continue for fifty 
years from the year in which the work was produced. CHAPTER IV IP/N/1/ITA/C/l 
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SPECIAL PROVISIONS GOVERNING THE RIGHT OF ECONOMIC 
UTILIZATION OF CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF WORKS 
SECTION I 
DRAMATICO-MUSICAL WORKS 
MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS WITH WORDS 
CHOREOGRAPHIC WORKS AND PANTOMIMES 
Article 33 
In the absence of a special agreement between collaborators in respect of 
operas, operettas, melologues, musical compositions with words, and dance and 
ballet music, the provisions of the three following Articles shall apply. 
Article 34 
The author of the musical part shall be entitled. to exercise the rights of 
economic utilization; however, the rights flowing from the common ownership of the 
parties are not affected. 
The profits derived from economic utilization shall be shared in proportion to 
the values of the respective literary and musical contributions. 
In the operas, the value of the musical part shall be regarded as being 
threequarters of the total value of the work. 
In operettas, in melologues, in musical compositions with words, in dance and 
ballet music, the value of the two contributions shall be considered equal. 
Subject to the provisions of the following Articles, each collaborator shall be 
entitled to use his own work separately and independently. 
Article 35 
The author of the literary part may dispose thereof for the purpose of its union with 
some other musical work, only in the following cases: 
1) If, after the final text of the manuscript of the literary contribution has been sent 
to the composer, he does not set it to music within five years in the case of a libretto 
for an opera or operetta, or within one year in the case of any other literary work to 
be set to music; 
2) if, after having been set to music and considered by the parties as being ready IPINIl/IT AICIl 
Page 12 
for performance, the work is not performed within the periods specified in the 
preceding subsection, except as longer periods may be granted for performance in 
accordance with Articles 139 and 141; 
3) if, after a first performance, the work ceases to be performed for a period of ten 
years in the case of an opera, an oratorio, a symphonic poem or an operetta, or for 
a period of two years in the case of any other composition. 
The composer, in the cases specified in subsections (2) and (3), may make 
use of the music in other ways. 
Article 36 
In the case specified in subsection (1) of the preceding Article, the author of 
the literary part shall reacquire the right of unrestricted disposal thereof, without 
prejudice to any ultimate action for damages that he may take against the 
composer. 
In the cases specified in subsections (2) and (3), and without prejudice to any 
action for damages referred to in the preceding paragraph, the community rights as 
such shall be maintained in respect of the work which has already been set to 
music, but the work itself may not be performed without the consent of both 
collaborators. 
Article 37 
In the case of choreographic works or pantomimes, and in the case of other 
works consisting of music with words, dancing or mimicry, such as musical reviews 
and similar works, in which the musical part does not constitute the principal 
function or value, the exercise of the rights of economic utilization shall, in the 
absence of agreement to the contrary, belong to the author of the choregraphic or 
pantomimic part, and in the case of musical revues to the author of the literary part. 
The provisions of articles 35 and 36 shall apply to these works, subject to the 
modifications required by the provisions of the preceding paragraph. . 
SECTION 11 
COLLECTIVE WORKS, MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS 
Article 38 
In the case of a collective work, the rights of economic utilization shall, in the 
absence of agreement to the contrary, belong to the publisher of the work, without 
prejudice to any right deriving from the application of Article 7. 
The right to utilize their own contributions separately shall be reserved to the 
individual collaborators in collective works, provided they observe any subsisting 
agreements or, in the absence of agreem~nts, the rules set out below. Article 39 IP/N/lIITA/C/l 
Page 13 
If, without prior agreement, an article is sent to a magazine or newspaper by 
a person outside the editorial staff, for the purpose of reproduction, the author shall 
re-acquire the right to dispose of it unrestrictedly if he does not receive notice of 
acceptance within one month from notification of such accptance. 
In the case of an article furnished by a member of the editorial staff, the 
director of the magazine or newspaper may defer reproduction beyond the periods 
indicated in the preceding paragraph. However, once the period of six months from 
the delivery of the manuscript has expired, the author shall be entitled to uti.lize the 
article for reproduction in a volume, or in separate form in the case of newspaper, 
and also in any other periodical in the case of a magazine. 
Article 40 
Intheabsence of agreement to the contrary, the collaborator, in a collective 
work other than a magazine or newspaper, shall be entitled to have his name 
appear in the customary manner in the reproduction of his work. 
In the absence of agreement to the contrary, such a right shall not belong to 
the editorial staff of newspaper. 
Article 41 
Without prejudice to the application of the provisions of Article 20, the director 
of a newspaper shall, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, be entitled to 
introduce into an article submitted for reproduction such modifications of form as 
are requfred by the nature and objects of the newspaper. 
In articles to be reproduced without indication of the name of the author, this 
right shall extend to the omission or reduction of parts of the said article. 
Article 42 
The author of an article or other work reproduced in a collective work shal'l be 
entitled toreproduce it in separate form, or to include it in a volume, provided he 
indicates the' collective work from which it has been taken and the date .of 
publication. 
In the case of articles appearing in magazines or newspapers, the ,author 
shall" in the absence of agreement to the contrary, also have the right to reproduce 
them in other magazines or newspapers. 
Article 43 
The publisher or director of magazine or newspaper shall not be compelled IP/N/1/ITA/C/l 
Page 14 
to preserve or to return the manuscripts of unreproduced articles which have been 
sent to him without his request. 
SECTION III 
CINEMATOGRAPHIC WORKS 
Article 44 
The author of the subject, the author of the scenario, the composer of the 
music and the artistic director shall be considered as co-authors of a 
cinematographic work. 
Article 45 
Within the limits indicated in the following Articles, the exercise of the rights 
of economic utilization of a cinematographic work shall belong to the person who 
has organized the production of the said work. 
The person who is indicated in the cinematographic film as the producer shall 
be deemed to be the producer of the cinematographic work. If the work is registered 
according to the second paragraph of Article 103, the presumption established by 
the said Article shall prevail. 
Article 46 
The exercise of the rights of economic utilization belonging to the producer 
shall have as its object the cinematographic exploitation of the work produced . 
. In the absence of agreement to the contrary, the producer shall not make or 
show elaborations, transformations or translations of the produced work without the 
consent of the authors indicated in Article 44. 
The authors of music, of. musical compositions and of the words which 
accompany music shall be entitled to collect directly from persons publicly showing 
the work a separate payment in respect of such showing. In the absence of 
agreement between the parties, the payment shall be. fixed according to the 
provisions of the Regulations. 
The authors of the subject and of the scenario and the artistic director, in 
cases where they are not remunerated upon the basis of a percentage of the 
receipts derived from public showing of the cinematographic work, shall, in the 
absence of agreement to the contrary, be entitled to receive an additional payment 
when the receipts have attained a level to be fixed by contract with the producer. 
The form and amount of such payment shall be fixed by agreement between the 
categories of persons interested. 
Article 47 IP/N/1/ITA/C/l 
Page 15 
The producer shall have the right to make such modifications in works utilized 
in a Cinematographic work as are necessary for their cinematographic adaption. 
In the absence of agreement between the producer and one or more of the 
authors referred to in Article 44 of this Law, the question whether modifications 
effected or to be effected in a cinematorgraphic work are necessary shall be 
decided by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers in accordance with the rules 
contained in the Regulations. 
The findings of the College shall be final. 
Article 48 
The authors of a cinematographic work shall be entitled to have their names, 
together with an indication of their professional functions and of their contributions, 
mentioned in the showing of a cinematographic work. 
Article 49 
The authors of the literary or musical parts of a cinematographic work may 
reproduce them or utilize them separately in any manner, provided no damage is 
thereby occasioned to the rights of utilization the exercise of which belongs to the 
producer. 
Article 50 
If the producer fails to complete the cinematographic work within a period of 
three years from the delivery of the literary or musical parts, or does not show the 
completed work within'three years from its completion, the authors of the said parts 
shall be entitled to dispose unrestrictedly of the work itself. 
Section IV 
WORKS BROADCAST 
Article 51 
By reason of the nature and purpose of broadcasting as a service reserved 
to the State, which carries on such service either directly or by means of 
concession, the exclusive right of broadcasting, either directly or by any 
intermediate means, shall be regulated by the foliowing special provisions. 
Article 52 
Under the conditions and within the limits indicated in this and the following 
Articles, the organization which carries on the broadcasting service shall be entitled IP/N/lIITA/CIl 
Page 16 
to broadcast intellectual works from theatres, concert halls or in any other public 
place. 
Proprietors, impresarios, and all persons involved in the performance, shall 
be required to permit such installations and technical tests as may be necessary in 
preparation for the broadcast. 
The consent of the author shall be required for the broadcasting of new works 
and for the first performance in any given season of works which are not new. 
A theatrical work which has been publicly performed in three different theatres 
or other public places shall not be deemed to be new. 
-2-
Article 53 
Where the season for theatrical performances or concerts is not less than two 
months, the right of the organization indicated in the preceding Article may be 
exercised once a week in respect of theatrical performances, and once for each 
five concerts or fractional part thereof. 
The duration of a theatrical or concert season shall be understood to be the 
season specified in notices or programs published before the commencement of the 
season. 
Article 54 
The task of ascertaining whether broadcasts comply with proper technical 
standards shall be the exclusive duty of the State organizations responsible for the 
supervision of broadcasting and having the powers conferred by Article 2 of Royal 
Decree Law of June 14, 1923, No. 1352, and of Article 2 of Royal Decree Law of 
February 3, 1936,. No. 654, converted into the Law of June 4, 1936, No. 1552. ' 
The name of the author and the title of the work shall be broadcast at the 
same time as the work itself. 
Article 55 
Without prejudice to the rights of the author in connection with' the 
broadcasting of his work, the organization carrying on the broadcasting service is 
authorized to record the said work upon a record or metai tape or by some 
analogous process, for the purpose of its deferred roadcast, when this is 
necessitated by considerations of time or technology, provided that after its use, the 
said recording is destroyed or rendered unusable. 
Article 56 IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 17 
The author of a work broadcast in accordance with the preceding Articles shall 
be entitled to obtain from the organization carrying on the broadcasting service the 
payment of remuneration, the amount of which in the case of disagreement 
between the parties, shall be settled, by judicial authority. 
Application may only be made to the judicial authority after en effort of 
conciliation made in the manner and form established by the Regulations. 
Article 57 
The amount of remuneration shall be based upon the number of 
transmissions. 
The Regulations shall determine the criteria for establishing the number and 
manner of deferred or repeated transmissions. 
Article 58 
The author shall be entitled to equitable remuneration for the performance in 
public establishments of broadcast works by means of sound radio receivers 
equipped with loudspeakers, the amount being determined periodically by 
agreement betw~en the Societa Italiana Autori ed Editori (S.I.A.E.) and the 
representatives of the competent syndical association. 
Article 59 
The broadcasting of intellectual works from the premises of the organization 
carrying on the broadcasting service shall be subject to the consent of the author, 
in accordance with the provisions contained in the third Chapter of this Part; the 
provisions of the foregoing Articles, except those of Article 55, shall not be 
applicable to such broadcasting. 
Article 60 
The broadcasting organization may, by order of the Chaiman of the Council 
of Ministers make special broadcasts of cultural and artistic propaganda intended 
for other countries, subject to payment made in accordance with the Regulations. 
SECTION V 
WORKS RECORDED ON 
MECHANICAL CONTRIVANCES 
Article 61 
The author shall have the exclusive right, within the meaning of the 
provisions of Section I of Chapter III of this Part: IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 18 
(1) to adapt and record the work upon phonograph records, 
cinematographic films, metai tapes, or any analogous material or mechanical 
contrivance for reproducing sounds or voices; 
(2) to reproduce, to distribute, to lease, to lend as well as to authorize lease 
and loan of copies of the work adapted or recorded as above; 
(3) to peform in public and to broadcast the work by means of the record or 
other mechanical contrivance indicated above. 
The assignment of the right of reproduction or of the right of commercial 
circulation shall not, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, include 
assignment of the right of pubiic performance or of broadcasting. 
Insofar as concerns broadcasting, copyright shall be governed by the 
provisions contained in the preceding Section. 
Article 62 
Copies of a phonograph record or of any like contrivance for reproducing 
sounds or voices in which an intellectual work has been recorded shall not be 
commerciaily distributed unless they bear, in an indelible manner, the following 
indications: 
(1). the title of the work reproduced: 
(2) the name of the author; 
(3) the. name of the performing artist. 
Orchestral or choral groups shall be indicated by their custornary name; 
(4) the date of production. 
Article 63 
The record or like Contrivance must be'made or utilized in such a manner that 
the morai right of the author is respected within the terms of Articles 20 and 21 of 
this Law. . 
Modifications of a work necessitated by the technical requirement of recording 
shall l;>e considered lawful. 
Article 64 
, 'Any concession permitting a nationai establishment which issues. phonograph 
records to utilize the matrices of the stat~ Record Library (Oiscoteca di Stato) for 
the purpose of making records'to be distributed for sale, whether in Italy or abroad, 
within the terms of Article 5 of the Law 01t February 2, 1939, No. 467, containing 
provisions for the reorganization of the State Record Library, shall, insofar as the 
works recorded are protected works, be subject to the payment of royalties in 
accordance with the provisions of the Regulations. SECTION VI 
Computer programs 
Article 64 bis IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 19 
Without prejudice to the provisions of articles 64 ter and 64 quater, the 
exclusive rights conferred by this law regarding computer programs shall include 
the right to perform or authorize: 
a) reproduction, whether permanently or temporarily, partially or totally, of the 
computer program by whatever means or in whatever form. Insofar as such 
operations as the loading, the visualisation, execution, transmission or storage of 
computer programs require reproduction, they shall be performed subject to 
authorization by the person entitled to the aforesaid rights; 
b) translation, adaptation, transformation and any other modification of the 
computer program, as well as reproduction of the work resulting therefrom, without 
prejudice to the rights of the person who modifies the said program; 
c) any form of distribution to the public, including lease, either of the original 
computer program or of copies thereof. With the first sale of a copy of the program 
performed within the European Economic Community by the person entitled to the 
said rights, or with the latter's consent, there shall cease to exist the right of 
distribution of the aforesaid copy within the countries of the ECC, except for the 
right to supervise any further lease of the program or of a copy thereof. 
Article 64 ter 
In the absence of any contrary stipulation, the authorization by the copyright 
holder shall not apply to the activities as per subheadings a) and b) of article 64 bis, 
whenever such activities are necessary for the program to be used, in conformity 
with its purposes, by the person who legally purchased it, including for the 
correction of errors. 
Whoever is entitled to use a copy of the computer program may not be 
prevented by contract to make a backup copy of the selfsame program where this-
is necessary for its use. -
Whoever is entitled to use a copy of the computer program may, without being 
authorised by the copyright holder, evaluate, study or test the operation of such 
program in order to identify ideas and principles underlying each component of the 
selfsame program, provided he carries out such acts in the course of operations of 
loading, visualization, execution, transmission or storage of the program which he 
is entitled to perform. Any contractual agreements infringing the provisions of this 
paragraph shall be void. 
Article 64 quater 
No authorization by the copyright holder shall be required if the reproduction 
of the program code and translation of its form as per subheadings a) and b) of 
article 64 bis, carried out to modify the code form, are necessary to obtain the IP/N/lIITA/C/l 
Page 20 
information allowing a program developed autonomously to be interfaced with other 
types of programs, provided that 
a) the aforesaid activities are carried out by the licensee or by another entitled 
to use a copy of the program or, on behalf of the latter, by a person authorised to 
do so; 
b) the persons as per subheading a) cannot already access, easily and 
rapidly, the information required to allow interfacing. 
c) the aforesaid activities concern exclusively those components of the original 
program which are necessary to allow interfacing. 
The provisions as per paragraph 1 shall preclude that the information obtained 
through their implementation: 
a) be used for purposes other than the interfacing of a program developed 
autonomously; 
b) be communicated to third parties, without prejudice to the need to allow 
interfacing of the program developed autonomously; 
c) be used for developing, producing or commercializing a computer program 
which is basically similar, as to the form of its expression, to the aforesaid one, or 
for any further activities infringing copyright. 
Any contractual agreements infringing paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be void. 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention for the protection of Literary and Artistic 
Works, ratified and enforced by law no. 399 of June 20, 1978, the provisions of this 
article may not be construed so as to let their application be unduly prejudicial to 
the lawful interests of the copyright holder, or in conflict with the customary 
utilization of the program. 
CHAPTER V 
FREE UTILIZATION 
Article 65 
Articles of current interest of an economic, political or religious character, 
published in magazines or newspapers, may be freely reproduced in other 
magazines or newspapers, or may be broadcast, unless ·such reproduction is 
expressly reserved, provided an indication is given of the magazine or newspaper 
from which they are taken, the date and the number of the said magazine or 
newspaper and, in the case of a signed article, the name of the author. 
Article 66 
Discourses upon rnatters of political or administrative interest delivered in 
public assemblies or in any other public manner rnay be freely reproduced in 
magazines or newspapers, as well as broadcast, provided an indication of the 
source is given, together with the name of the author and the date and place in 
which the discourse was delivered. Article 67 IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 21 
Works or portions of works may be reproduced for use in judicial or 
administrative proceedings, provided an indication is given of the source or of the 
name of the author. 
Article 68 
The reproduction of single works or of portions of works for the personal use 
of readers, when made by hand or by a means of reproduction unsuitable for 
circulating or diffusing the work in public, shall be free. 
The photo-copying of works existing in libraries, when made for personal use 
or for the services of the library. shall be free. 
The circulating of such' copies in public and, in general, any use thereof in 
competition with the rights of economic utilization belonging to the author shall be 
forbidden. 
Art. 69 (1) 
Loans granted by libraries and record libraries pertaining to the State 'or to 
public authorities, exclusively for purposes of cultural promotion and personal 
study, shall not require authorization by the person entitled to the relevant right, to 
whom no remuneration shall be due, and shall exclusively concern: 
a) printed copies of the works, except for music scores; 
b) phonograms and videograms containing cinematographic or individual 
works or sequences of motion picture, with or without soundtrack, provided at least 
eighteen months have elapsed since the first act of exercise of the right of 
distribution. 
Article 70 
The abridgment, quotation or reproduction of fragments or parts of a work for 
the purpose of criticism or discussion, or for instructional purposes, shall be free 
within the limits justfied for such purposes, provided such acts do not constitute 
competition with the economic utiltzation of the work. 
In anthologies for scholasfic use, reproduction shall not exceed the extent 
specified in the Regulations, which Regulations shall also fix the manner for 
determining equitable remuneration in respect of such reproduction. 
The abridgment, quotation or reproduction must always be accompanied by 
a mention of the title of the work, and of the names of the author, the publisher and, 
in the case of a translation, the translator, provided such indications appear upon 
the basic work. 
Article 71 IP/NI 1 IITA/CI 1 
Page 22 
Musical groups and bands of the armed forces of the State may perform 
musical pieces or portions of nlusical works in public without payrnent of any fees 
in respect of copyright, provided the perforrnance is not for profit. 
PART II 
PROVISIONS CONCEr~NING RIGHTS 
CONNECTED WITH THE EXEI~CISE OF COPYRIGHT 
CHAPTEF 1 
RIGHTS RELATING TO THE PRODUCTION OF PHONOGRAPHIC 
RECORDS AND OF SIMILAR CONTRIVANCES 
Article 7:~ 
Without prejudice to the rights granted to the author pursuant to Part I of this 
Law, the producer of a phonographic record or of any other similar contrivance for 
reproducing sounds or voices shall have tl113 exclusive right, for the period and 
under the conditions laid down in the following articles, to reproduce, by whatever 
duplication process, and distribute the said record or contrivance of ~is production. 
The right of distribution shall not be limited to tile territory of the European Union, 
unless the first sale of the phonogram was carried out or authorized by the producer 
in a country of the European Union. 
Article 73 
The producer of the phonographic record or of any similar contrivance for 
reproducing sounds or voices, as well as the ·3rtists who interpreted or performed 
the interpretation or the performance recorded or reprodu'ced on the said 
contrivances, shall be entitled, independently of the rights of distribl!tion, lease and 
loan pertaining to them, to rernuneration in excr ange for the utilizatioo, Jar purposes 
of gain, of the record or of the sirnilar contrivance through broadcasting, 
cinematography, television, in public dancing pclrties, in public premises and on the 
occasion of any further public utilization of the said contrivances. . 
The producer shall be entitled to exercise the aforesaid right, and shall share 
out the remuneration among the artists who acted, interpreted or performed the 
work. 
Except when agreed otherwise by the parlies, the said rernuneration shall be 
calculated, paid and distributed pursUant to the Regulation . 
. The amount of such remuneration and the .shares of distribution, as well as the 
relative formalities, shall be determined according to the provisions of the regulations. IP/NIlIITA/CI 1 
Page 23 
No remuneration shall be required in respect of the. utilization for instructional 
or propaganda purposes by the State administration, or by institutions authorized 
by the State for such purposes. 
Art. 73-bis 
The artists who interpret or perform and the producer of the phonogram which 
was utilized shall be entitled to fair remuneration including when the utilization as 
per article 73 was not effected for purposes of gain. 
Except when agreed otherwise by the parties, the said remuneration shall be 
calculated, paid and distributed pursuant to the Regulation. 
Article 74 
The producer shall be entitled to oppose any utilization of a record or 
contrivance for producing sounds or voices, as specified in the preceding Article, 
if effected under conditions of such a nature as seriously to prejudice his industrial 
interests. . 
Upon application of the interested party, the "Office of the Chairman of the 
Council of Ministers pending a decision of the judicial authority, may nevertheless 
authorize the use of the record or like contrivance for reproducing sounds or voices, 
after technical investigation and· the ordering, where necessary, of steps to 
eliminate any factors which would detract from the standard of the performance. 
Article 75 
The duration of the rights specified in this Chapter shall be thirty years from 
the date of the deposit effected according to Article 77, and shall not exceed forty 
years from the date of making of the original record or like contrivance for 
reproducing sounds or voices. 
In the case of non effected deposit, accorr.ding to the second paragraph of the 
article 77, the duration of the rights shall be thilty years from the date of marking of 
the original record. 
Article 76 
Copies of a phonograph record or like contrivance for reproducing sounds or 
voices shall not be cornrnercially distributed unless they bear, indelibly imposed 
upon the said record or contrivance, the indications specified in Article 62, insofar 
as they are applicable. . . 
Article 77 
The' rights specified in this chapter may be exercised if deposit has been 
effected with the Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, according to th'e IP IN 11 lIT AICI 1 
Page 24 
provisions of the Regulations, of one copy of the record or analogous 
contrivance. 
Nevertheless the formality of deposit prescribed in the first paragraph, as 
condition to exercise the rights that belong to producer, shall be considered as 
fulfilled if the mark (P) accompained by the indication of the year of first 
Pubblication is firmly printed upon all specimens of record or analogous 
contrivance. 
Article 78 
The person who, by direct recording of sounds or voices, undertakes the 
making of the original record or like contrivance for reproducing sounds or voices, 
shall be considered the producer. 
The place of production shall be considered to be that in which the direct 
original recording was effected. 
CHAPTER Ibis 
RIGHTS OF PRODUCERS OF CINEMATOGRAPHIC 
OR AUDIOVISUAL WORKS, 
OR OF SEQUENCES OF MOTION PICTURES 
Article 78-bis 
The producer of cinematograhic or audiovisual works or of sequences of 
motion pictures shall have the exclusive power; 
a) to authorize reproduction, whether direct or indirect, of the original works 
and of the copies thereof; 
b) to authorize distribution; by whatever means including by sale, of the 
original works and of the copies thereof; the right of distribution shall not be limited 
to the territory of the European Union, unless the first sale was effected or 
authorized by the producer in a country belonging to the European Union; 
c) to authorize lease and loan of the original works and of the copies thereof; 
sale or distribution, in whatever form, shall not limit the right of lease and loan. 
The rights as per par~graph 1 shall cease to exit only after twenty years have 
elapsed since the end of the calendar years in which the recording was effected. 
CHAPTER 11 
RIGHTS RELATING TO BROADCAST EMISSIONS 
Article 79 
Without prejudice to the rights granted by this law to authors, to producers of 
phonographic records and similiar contrivances, to producers of cinematographic IP/N/lIITA/C/1; 
Page 25 
or audiovisual works or of sequences of m ation pictures, to artists who interpret or 
perform, those subject carrying 
out broadcasting activities by radio or television shall have the exclusive power: 
a) to authorize the recording of broadcasts effected by wire or air: this right 
shall not be granted to cable distributors who rebroadcast, by cable, the broadcasts 
of other broadcasting organization; 
b) to authorize reproduction, whethever direct or indirect, of the recordings of 
their communication to the public provided the latter is carried out in a place which 
is accessible upon payment of an entrance fee; 
d) to authorize distribution of the recordings of their own broadcasts as well 
as their communication to the public provided the latter is carried out in a place 
which is accessible upon payment of an entrance fee; 
d) to authorize distribution of the recording of their own broadcasts: this power 
shall not be limited to the territory of the European Union unless the first sale was 
effected or allowed by the person having the said power in a country of the 
European Union. 
The subjects as per paragraph 1 shall also have the exclusive right of 
utilization of the recordings of their own broadcasts for further broadcasts or 
rebroadcasts or for further recordings. 
'Broadcasts' shall mean broadcasts by radio and television. 
'By wire or air' shall include broadcasts by cable and via satellite. 
The rights as per paragraph 1 shall continue for twenty years since the end 
of the calendar year in which the first diffusion of a broadcast was effected. 
Article 80 
Artists who interpret or perform shall be all those actors, singers, mUSICians, 
dancers and any other persons who play, sing, recit, or performs, in whatever 
manner, intellectual works, whethever protected or of public domain. 
The artists who interpret or perform shall have the exclusive power, regardle,ss 
of any remunerati~n to which they may be entitled, for their live artistic 
performances: 
, a) to authorize recording of their artistic performances; 
b) to authorize reproduction, \lVhethe'yer direct or indirect, of the recordings of 
their artistic performances; 
c) to authorize broadcasting by air and communication to the public, in 
whatever form and manner, of their live artist performances, unless the latter were 
intended for broadcasting by radio or television or are already the subject or a 
recording for broadcasting purposes. If the recording is represented by a 
phonographic record or any similiar contrivance, and where it is utilized for 
purposes of gain, the artists who interpret or perform shall of entitled to the 
remuneration as per article 73; if the recording is not utilized for purposes of gain, 
the artists who interpret or perform shall be entitled to the fair remuneration as per 
article 73-bis; 
d) to authorize distribution of the recordings of their artistic performances: this IP/N/1/ITA/C/1 
Page 26 
right shall not be limited to the territory of the European Union, unless the first sale 
was effected by the person having the aforesaid right, or with the latter's consent, 
in a country of the European Union; 
e) to authorize lease or loan of the recordings of their artistic performances 
and of the reproductions thereof: the artists who interpret or perform shall retain, 
even when granting the right of lease to a producer of phonograms or 
cinematographic or audiovisual works or of sequences of motion pictures, the right 
to obtain fair remuneration for the lease contracts made by the said producer with 
third parties. Any contrary stipulation shall be void. 
Article 81 
Artists who act, interpret or perform shall be entitled to oppose any diffusion 
transmission or reproduction of their recitation or performance which might be 
prejudicial to their honor or reputation. 
The provisions of the second paragraph of Article 74 shall be applicable. 
Insofar as broadcasting is concerned, disputes arising from the application of 
this Article shall be regu5ilated according to the provisions of the first paragraph of 
Article 54. . 
Article 82 
For the purposes of the application of the foregoing provisions the following 
shall be included within the definition of artists who act, interpret or perform: 
(1) persons who, in [the performance of] any dramatic, literary or musical work 
or composition, play an important artistic part, even if subsidiary to the leading 
performers; 
(2) the conductors of an orchestra or choir; 
(3) entire orchestras or choirs, provided that the orchestral or choral part [of 
the performancej has artistic value in itself and is not a mere accompaniment. 
Article 83 
Artists who act, interpret or perform the leading parts in a dramatic, literary or 
musical work or composition shall be entitled to have their names indicated in the 
diffusion or transmission of their recitation or performance and applied in an 
indelible manner to any phonograph record, cinematographic film or other like 
contrivance. 
Art. 84 
Unless where agreed otherwhise by the parties, it is presumed that the artists 
who interpret or perform alienated their right to authorize lease at the time of 
stipulation of a contract for the production of a cinematographic or audiovisual work 
or of a sequence of motion pictures, without prejudice to the right to fair remuneration as per para.S of article 18-bis of this law . IP/N/lIITA/C/l 
Page 27 
. Unless where agreed otherwise by the parties, it is presumed that the artists 
who interpret or perform alienated their rights of recording, reproduction, 
broadcasting and distribution at the time of stipulation of a contract for the 
production of a cinematographic or audiovisual work or of sequences of motion 
pictures. 
The fair remuneration as per paragraph 1 shall be determined pursuant to the 
provisions of the Regulation. 
Article 85 
The rights as per this Chapter shall continue for twenty years since the end 
of the calendar year in which the performance, the representation or the recitation 
took place. 
CHAPTER IV 
RIGHTS RELATING TO SKETCHES OF 
THEATRICAL SCENES 
Article 86 
The author of sketches of theatrical scenes which do not constitute an 
intellectual work covered by copyright within the meaning of the provisions of Part 
I, shall have a right to remuneration when such sketch is further used in theatres 
other than that for which it was composed. 
This right shall continue for five years from the first performance in which the 
sketch was used. 
CHAPTER V 
RIGHTS RELATING TO PHOTOGRAPHS 
Article 87 
Pictures of persons, or of aspects elements or features of natural or social life, 
obtained by photographic or analogous processes, including reproductions of 
works of graphic art and stills of Cinematographic film, shall be considered to be 
photographs for the purposes of the application of the provisions of this Chapter. 
Photographs of writings, documents, business papers, material objects, 
technical drawings and similar products shall not be so considered. 
Article 88 IP/N/1/ITA/C/l 
Page 28 
The exclusive right of reproduction, diffusion and circulation of a photograph 
shall, subject to the provisions of Section 11 of Chapter VI of this Part insofar as 
portraits are concerned, and without prejudice to any copyright in works of 
graphic art reproduced in photographs, belong to the photographer. 
However, if the work has been produced in the course of the fulfillment of a 
contract of employment or of work then, within the limits of the object and purpose 
of the contract, the exclusive right shall belong to the employer. 
In the absence of agreement to the contrary, the same shall apply in favor of 
the person who commissions photographs of objects in his possession, subject to 
the payment of an equitable remuneration to the photographer by any person who 
commercially utiizes the reproduction. 
The Chairman of the Council of Ministers' in accordance with the provisions 
specified in the Regulation, fix suitable rates for the remuneration to be paid by any 
person who so utilizes the photograph. 
Article 89 
In the absence of agreement to the contrary, transfer of the negative or similiar 
means of reproduction of a photograph shall involve transfer of the rights referred 
to in the foregoing Article, provided that such rights are the property of the 
transferor. 
Article 90 
The copies of the photograph must bear the following indications: 
(1) the name of the photographer or, in cases of the kind referred to in the first 
paragraph of Article 88, the name of the firm to which he belongs, or of the person 
who commissioned the photograph; 
(2) the year of production of the photograph; 
(3) the name of the author of the work of art which has been photographed: 
When the copies do not bear the said indications, their reproduction shall not 
be deemed wrongful and the remuneration specified in Articles 91 and 98 shall not 
become due unless the photographer proves bad faith on the part of the 
reproducer. 
Article 91 
The production of photographs in anthologies destined for scholastic use and, 
in general, in scientific or didactic works, shall be lawful, subject to the payment of 
equitable remuneration which shall be determined in the manner provided in the 
Regulations. 
In any reproduction, the name of the photographer and the year of making 
shall be indicated if such are given upon the photograph which has been 
reproduced. IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 29 
The reproduction of photographs published in newspapers or other 
periodicals, and which concern persons or current events or matters of public 
interest, shall be lawful, subject to the payment of equitable remuneration. 
The provisions of the final paragraph of Article 88 shall be applicable. 
Article 92 
The exclusive right in respect of photographs shall continue for twenty years 
from the making of the photograph. 
CHAPTER VI 
RIGHTS RELATING TO LETTERS AND 
PORTRAITS 
SECTION I 
RIGHTS RELATING TO LETTERS 
Article 93 
Letters, collections of letters, family and personal memoranda and, other 
writings of a like nature, having a confidential character or associated with the 
intimacy of private life, may not be published, reproduced, or in any manner brought 
to the knowledge of the public without the consent of the author and, in the case of 
letters and collections of letters, the consent also of the addressee. 
After the death of the author or of the addressee, the consent of the spouse 
and children or, if none exist, the consent of the parents, shall be required; if there 
'is no spouse, child or parent the consent of the brothers and sisters or, if none 
exist, the consent of the direct ascendants and descendants to the fourth degree', 
shall be required. 
When the persons indicated in the preceding paragraph are two or more in 
number and disputes arise hetween them, the judicial authority shall decide the 
matter, after having heard the public prosecutor. 
The wishes of the deceased person, when expressed in writing, shall in all 
cases be respected. 
Article 94 
The consent indicated in the foregoing Article shall not be necessary when 
knowledge of the contents of such written matter is required for the purposes of civil 
or penal proceedings, or in connection with the defense of the honor or reputation 
of the person or family concerned. IP/NIlIITA/CI 1 
Page 30 
Article 95 
The provisions of the preceding Articles shall apply also to letters constituting 
works protected by copyright, even after they have fallen into the public domain. 
Such provisions shall not apply to official documents and letters and to documents 
and letters of interest to the State. 
SECTION 11 
RIGHTS RELATING TO PORTRAITS 
Article 96 
Subject to the provisions of the following Article, the portrait of a person may 
not be displayed, reproduced or commercially distributed without the consent of 
such person. 
After the death of the person portrayed, the provisions of the second third and 
fourth paragraphs of Article 93 shall be applicable. 
Article 97 
The consent of the person portrayed shall not be necessary when the 
reproduction of the portrait is justified by his notoriety or his holding of public office, 
or by the needs of justice or the police, or for scientific, didactic, or cultural reasons, 
or when reproduction is associated with facts, events and ceremonies which are of 
public interest or have taken place in public. 
The portrait may not, however, be displayed or commercially distributed when 
its display or commercial distribution would prejudice the honor, reputation or 
dignity of the person portrayed. 
Article 98 
In the absence of agreement to the contrary, a commissioned photographic 
portrait may be published, reproduced, or caused to be reproduced by the person 
photographed or by his heirs or successors in title, without the consent of the 
photographer, subject to the payment of equitable remuneration to the 
photographer by any person making commercial use of the reproduction. 
If the name of the photographer appears upon the original photograph such 
name must be indicated. 
The provisions of the last paragraph of Article 88 shall be applicable. 
CHAPTER VII 
RIGHTS RELATING TO 
ENGINEERING PROJECTS Article 99 IP/N/lIITA/C/1 
Page 31 
The author of engineering projects and other analogous works which 
constitute original solutions of technical problems shall in addition to the exclusive 
right of reproduction of the plans and drawings of the actual projects have the right 
to equitable remuneration from any person who, with gainful intent and without the 
consent of the author, realizes the technical project concerned. 
In order to exercise his right to remuneration, the author must insert upon the 
plan or drawing a declaration of reservation of the right and must deposit the plan 
or drawing with the Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers' in 
accordance with the provisions of the Regulations. 
The right to remuneration provided by-this Article shall continue for twenty 
years from the date of the deposit prescribed in the second paragraph. 
CHAPTER VIII 
PROTECTION OF THE TITLE, HEADINGS 
AND EXTERNAL APPEARANCE OF WORKS, 
AND OFARTICLES AND NEWS. 
PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN ACTS OF 
UNFAIR COMPETITION 
Article 100 
The title of a work, when it uniquely identifies the work, may not be reproduced 
in connection with any other work without the consent of the author. 
This prohibition shall not extend to works which are of a kind or character so 
far removed as to exclude all possibility of confusion. 
The reproduction of headings used in periodical publications to give unique 
identification to the normal and characteristic features appearing thereunder, 
shall, under like conditions, also be prohibited. 
The title of a newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication may not be 
reproduced in other works of the same kind or character unless two years have 
expired since cessation of its publication. 
Article 101 
The reproduction of information and news shall be lawful, provided it is not 
effected by way of acts which are contrary to fair practice in journalism, and 
provided the source is given. 
The following shalf be deemed to be unlawful acts: 
(a) the reproduction or the broadcasting, without authorization, of bulletins of 
information distributed by press or information agencies, before the lapse of 
sixteen hours from the distribution of the actual bulletins and, in any case, before IP 1Nl lilT Alell 
Page 32 
their publication in a newspaper or other periodical authorized by such agency. For 
this purpose and in order for the said agencies to have a right of action aga·inst 
persons who make unlawful utilization, bulletins must bear a precise indication of 
the day and hour of their issue; 
(b) the systematic reproduction of published or broadcast information or 
news, with gainful intent, by newspapers or other periodicals or by broadcasting 
organizations. 
Article 102 
The reproduction or imitation of other works of a like kind, or of headings, 
emblems, ornamentations, arrangements of printing signs or characters, or any 
other particularity of form or calor in the external appearance of an intellctual work, 
when the said reproduction or imitation is capable of creating confusion between 
works or authors, shall be forbidden as an act of unfair competition. 
PART III 
COMMON PROVISIONS 
CHAPTER I 
PUBLIC REGISTERS AND 
DEPOSIT OF WORKS 
Article 103 
A generai public register of works protected by this Law shall be established 
in Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers'. The S.I.A. E. shall be 
responsible for the maintenance of a special public register for cinematographic 
~~. . 
Works which are subject to the requirement of deposit shall be registered in 
the said registers, together with an indication of the name of the author, the 
producer, of the date of publication and other particulars specified in the 
Regulations. 
The S.I.A.E. shall further be in charge of the keeping of a special public 
register for computer programs. In the said register there shall be registrated the 
name of the person to whom the exclusive rights of economic utilization belong and 
the release date of the program -release meaning the first act of exercise of the 
said exclusive rights. 
In the absence of proof to the contrary, registration shall be accepted as proof 
of the existence of the work and of the fact of its publication. The authors and 
producers indicated in the register shall be deemed, in the absence of proof to the 
contrary, to be the authors and producers of the works attributed to them. In the 
case of cinematographic works, the presumption shall be applicable to the IP IN I lilT AICIl 
Page 33 
annotations made in the Register and referred to in the second paragraph . 
. The keeping of the public registers shall be governed by the Regulations. 
The registers as per this article may be kept by using computer equipments 
and instrumentation. 
Article 104 
At the instance of the interested party legal instruments executed between 
living persons, transferring in whole or in part rights recognized by this Law, or 
establishing rights of enjoyment or guarantee thereof, as well as instruments 
serving to divide or to associate such rights, may also be registered in the form 
prescribed by the Regulations. 
Such registration shall also have such legal or administrative effects as the 
provisions of this Law or other special laws accord to regi.stration. 
Article 105 
The authors and producers of works and products protected by this Law, or 
their successors in title, shall deposit with the Office of the Chairman of the Council 
of Ministers one specimen or copy of the work or product, within the period and in 
the manner specified in the Regulations. 
In the case of dramatico-musical or symphonic works of which the orchestral 
parts have not been printed, it shall be sufficient to deposit one copy or specimen 
of the version for voice and piano or for piano only. 
With respect of computer programs, the said deposit shall be optional and 
subject to charge. 
Photographs shall not be subject to the obligation of deposit, except as 
provided in the second paragraph of Article 92. 
Article 106 
Failure to deposit shall not prejudice the acquisition or exercise of coyright in 
respect of works protected under the provisions of Part I of this Law, or under the 
provisions of international conventions subject, however, in the case of foreign 
works, to the application of Articie 188 of this Law. 
The omission of a deposit required in Part II of this Law shall prevent the 
acquisition or exercise of rights in respect of the works specified in that Part and to 
the extent specified therein. 
The Chairman of the Council of Ministers shall be entitled to seize a specimen 
or copy of a work which has not been deposited as required by the Regulations. 
CHAPTER 11 IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 34 
TRANSFER OF THE RIGHTS 
OF UTILIZATION 
SECTION I 
GENERAL RULES 
Article 107 
The rights of utilization belonging to the authors of intellectual works, as well 
as the connected rights having a patrimonial character, may be acquired, alienated 
or transferred under all methods and forms allowed by law, subject to the 
application of the rules contained in this Chapter. 
Article 108 
An author who has attained the age of 16 shall be deemed capable of 
fulfilling all legal acts relating to works created by him, and of instituting any action 
in respect thereof. . 
Article 109 
In the absence of agreement to the contrary, the transfer of one or more 
copies of the work shall not involve transfer of the rights of utilization provided for 
in this Law. 
However, the transfer of a mold, an engraved plate or any similar medium 
used to reproduce a work of art shall, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, 
be deemed to include the right to reproduce the work provided such right belongs 
to the transferor. 
Article 110 
The transfer of rights of utilization must be established in writing. 
Article 111 
The right of publication of an inte"ectual work and the rights of utilization of· 
a published work, insofar as they belong personally to the author, may not be the 
subject of any pledge seizure or sequestration, either by contractual act or by way 
of forced execution. 
Copies of the work and the proceeds of utilization may, on the other hand, be 
the subject of a pledge, or be seized or sequestered, according to the rules of the 
Code of Civil Procedure. 
Article 112 IP/N/lIITA/C/l 
Page 35 
The rights belonging to the author, with the exception of the right to publish 
a work during his lifetime, may be expropriated for reasons of State interest. 
Article 113 
Expropriation shall be authorized by Presidential Decree at the instance of the 
Chairman of the Council of Ministers acting in conjunction with the Minister of Public 
Instruction and in consultation with the Coun-cil of State. 
The indemnity due to the dispossessed person shall be specified in the decree 
of expropriation or in a subsequent decree. 
The decree shall have executive force against successors in title and as 
against third parties who are the holders of physical objects necessary for the 
exercise of the expropriated rights. 
Article 114 
Recourse before the Council of State in its judicial capacity shall be admitted 
against a decree. of expropriation for reasons of State interest; but disputes 
concerning the amount of the indemnity shall be within the competence of the 
ordinary courts. 
SECTION I1 
TRANSMISSION CAUSA MORTIS 
Article 115 
After the death of the author, the rights of utilization of the work, if not 
otherwise disposed of by the author himself shall remain undivided between the 
heirs for a period of three years from the date of death, unless the judicial authority, 
at the instance of one or more of the co-heirs, agrees, for serious reasons, that 
division shall be effected without delay. 
When the said period has expired, the heirs may, by common accord, decide 
that the .rights shall continue to be held in common for such period as may be fixed 
by them, within the limits specified by the provisions contained in the Codes. 
Such community shall be regulated by the provisions of the Civii Code and by 
those which follow. 
Article 116 
The administration and representation of the community interests shall be 
conferred upon one of the co-heirs, or upon some person outside the succession. 
If the co-heirs fail to appoint an administrator, or if they do not agtee upon IP/N/1/ITA/C/1 
Page 36 
such appointment within one year from the effective date of the succession, the 
administration shall, upon the request of one of the co-heirs or of the S.I.A.E. be 
conferred upon the S.I.A. E. by decree of the tribunai of the place where probate 
was granted. 
The same procedure shall be followed in the case of the appointment of a new 
administrator. 
Article 117 
The administrator shall take charge of the management of the rights of 
uti I ization of the work. 
He shall not, however, authorize new editions, translation or their elaborations, 
nor the adaptation of the work to cinematography, broadcasting, or recording upon 
mechanical contrivances, except with the consent of heirs representing more than 
half of the value of the estate, and subject to such measures as may be taken by 
the judicial authority to safeguard the minority in accordance with the rules of the 
Civil Code relating to communities. 
SECTION III 
PUBLISHING CONTRACTS 
Article 118 
The contract by which the author grants to a publisher this exercise of the right 
of publication of an intellectual work by way of printing, for the account and at the 
cost of such publisher, shall be regulated apart from the special provisions 
contained in the Codes, by the general provisions of this Chapter and by the special 
provisions which follow. 
Article 119 
The contract may have for its object all the rights of utilization which belong 
to the author within the field of publication, or certain of them, with such provisions 
and for such duration as may be provided by the laws in force at the time of the 
contract. '-
In the absence of a stipulation to the contrary, it shall be presumed that the 
rights transferred are exclusive. 
Future rights which may be granted by subsquent laws and which involve 
protection of copyright wider in scope or longer in duration cannot be included [in 
the transfer]. 
In the absence of an express stipulation, alienation shall not extend to the 
rights of utilization in later elaborations and transformations to which the work may 
lend itself, including adaptations to cinematography, broadcasting, and recording upon mechanical contrivances. IP/N/1/ITA/C/l 
Page 37 
In the absence of an agreement to the contrary the alienation of one or more 
of the rights of utilization shall not imply the transfer of other rights which are not 
necessarily dependent upon the right transferred, even if, according to the 
provisions of Part I, they are included in the same category of exclusive rights. 
Article 120 
If the contract relates to works which have not at that date been created, the 
following rules shall be observed: 
(1) any contract shall be void which has for its object all the works or all the 
works of a certain category which the author may create, without limit of time; 
(2) without prejudice to the rules governing contracts for works and 
employment, contracts which relate to the alienation of exclusive rights in respect 
of works to be created may not extend for a term in excess of ten years; 
(3) if the work to be created has been determined, but the terrn within which 
such work shall be delivered has not been fixed the publisher may at any time 
request the judicial authority to fix such term. If the term has been fixed, the 
judicial authority may extend it. 
Article 121 
If after a substantial and self-sufficient portion has heen completed and 
delivered, the author should die, or should find himself unable to complete the work, 
the publisher shall be entitled to elect to regard the contract as rescinded, or upon 
making a proportionate payment to consider it as having been fulfilled insofar as 
concerns the delivered portion, unless the author has manifested or manifests a 
wish that the work should not he published unless entirely completed, or unless 
such a wish has been expressed by the persons indicated in Articre 23. 
If cancellation of the contract takes place at the request of the author or his 
heirs, the uncompleted work may not be assigned to other persons, under penalty 
of damages. 
Article 122 
A publishing contract may be based upon the number of editions or upon a 
certain period of time. 
A contract based upon the number of editions shall be deemed to confer upon 
the publisher the right to make one or more editions during a period of twenty years 
from the date of delivery of the completed manuscript. 
The number of editions and the number of copies of each edition shall be 
specified in the contract. However, alternatives may be provided for, either in 
respect of the number of editions and copies, or in respect of the remuneration 
based thereon. 
In the absence of such indications, it shall he understood that the contract has IP/NI1/ITA/CI1 
Page 38 
for its object a single edition of not more than 2,000 copies. 
A publication contract based upon a period of time shall be deemed to confer 
upon the publisher the right to produce the number of editions which he may 
consider necessary within the time specified, which period shall not exceed twenty 
years, and shall specify a minimum number of copies of each edition, to be 
produced; in the absence of such indication the contract shall be void. The 
maximum period of twenty years shall not apply to contracts concerning: 
encyclopaedias and dictionaries; 
sketches, drawings, vignettes, illustrations, photographs and similiar works, 
for industrial use; 
cartographical works; 
dramatico-musical and symphonic works. 
In both forms of contract, the publisher shall be free to spread the editions 
over such number of reprints as he may consider suitable. 
Article 123 
Copies of the work shall be countersigned in accordance with the rules 
established by the Regulations. 
Article 124 
If several edtions are contemplated by the contract, the publisher shall, within 
a reasonable advance period, be obliged to notify the author of the probable time 
of exhaustion of the current edition. 
He shall, at the same time, declare to the author whether or not he intends to 
proce.ed with a new edition. 
If the publisher has declared that he will renounce the making of a new edition, 
or if, having declared his wish to proceed with a new edition, he does not so 
proceed within a period of two years from the notification of such declaration, the 
contract shall be regarded as rescinded. . 
The author shall be entitled to damages in respect of the non-production of the 
new edition, unless the publisher shows an adequate justification. 
Article 125 
The author shall be required: 
(1) to deliver the work under the conditions specified in the contract and in 
form which will not make printing unduly difficult or costly; 
(2) to guarantee, for the entire period of the contract, the undisturbed 
enjoyment of the rights granted. 
In addition, the author shall have both the obligation and the right to correct 
printers' proofs, in accordance with the c<;>nditions established by custom. 
Article 126 The publisher shall be required: IP/NIlIITA/CI 1 
Page 39 
. (1) to reproduce the work and put it into commercial circulation in conformity 
with the original and according to rules of good publishing practice, with the name 
of the author, or as an anonymous or pseudonymous work if so provided in the 
contract; 
(2) to pay the stipulated remuneration to the author. 
Article 127 
The publication or reproduction of the work shall take pl~ce within the period 
fixed by the contract; such period shall not be more than two years from the date 
of effective delivery to the publisher of the complete and final copy of the work. 
If no period is specified in the contract, publication or reproduction of the work 
shall take place within two years of written request made to the publisher. The 
judicial authority may, however, fix a shorter period when such is justified by the 
nature of the work or by any other special circumstance. 
Any stipulation renouncing the fixing of a period or specifying a period in 
excess of the maximum referred to above shall be void. 
The maximum period of two years shall not apply to collective works. 
Article 128 
If a person acquiring the right of publication or reproduction does not effect 
publication or reproduction of the work within the period specified by the contract 
or by the judge, the author shall be entitled to demand that the contract be 
cancelled. 
The judicial authority may grant to the person acquiring the right an extension 
of time, not exceeding one half of the aforesaid period and subject, where 
necessary, to a suitable guarantee. The judicial authority may also restrict the 
decision on cancellation to part only of the provisions of the contract. 
In the case of total cancellation, the person who acquired the right must return 
the original of the work and shall be obligated to make good any damage, unless 
he proves that the failure to publish or reproduce took place despite the exercise 
of due diligence. 
Article 129 
Until such time as the work is published by printing, the author may introduce 
therein any modifications which he considers suitable, provided that they do not 
alter the character and purpose of the work, and provided he bears any major 
expenses occasioned by the modifications. 
The author shall have the same right in relation to new editions. The publisher 
shall consult the author on this matter before proceeding with new editions. In the 
absence of agreement between the parties, the period for carrying out modifications IP/N/1/ITA/C/1 
Page 40 
shall be fixed by the judicial authority. 
If the nature of the work requires it to be brought up to date prior to any new 
edition, and the author refuses so to do, the publisher may have it brought up to 
date by other persons, provided that the new edition shall indicate and distinguish 
the work of such persons. 
Article 130 
The remuneration of the author shall consist of a share of the proceeds which, 
in the absence of agreement to the contrary, shall be calculated upon a percentage 
basis of the retail price of the copies sold. However, his remuneration may be 
represented by a lump sum for editions of: 
dictionaries, encyclopaedias, anthologies and other works produced in 
collaboration; 
translations, newspaper and magazine articles; 
discourses or lectures; 
scientific works; 
cartographical works; 
musical or dramatico-musical works; 
works of art. 
In contracts providing for the shar,ng of proceeds the publisher shall be 
required to render an annual account of copies sold. 
Article 131 
In publishing contracts, the retail price shall be fixed by the publisher, after 
prior notice to the author. The author may object to the price fixed or modified by 
the publisher if it is such as would gravely prejudice the interests of the author or 
the dissemination of the work. 
Article 132 
The publisher shall not transfer the rights he has acquired to other persons 
without the consent of the author unless there is an agreement to the contrary or 
a change of ownership of the business. However, in the latter event, the publisher 
may not transfer his rights if such transfer would be prejudicial to the reputation of 
the author or to the dissemination of the work. 
Article 133 
If the work does not find a sufficient market at the price fixed, the publisher, 
before selling the remaining copies below cost price, or as waste, shall ask the 
author if he wishes to acquire the copies at a price calculated upon the amount 
obtainable by their sale at such price or as waste. Article 134 
Publishing contracts shall terminate: 
(1) upon expiration of the contractual period; IP/N/1/ITA/C/l 
Page 41 
(2) when their fulfillment is impossible by reason of the failure of the work; 
(3) when the author dies before completion of the work, subject to the 
application of the provisions of Article 121; 
(4) when the work cannot be published, reproduced or commerciaily 
distributed by reason of a judicial decision or a provision of law; 
(5) in case of cancellation of the contract as provided in Article 128, or in 
any case specified in Article 133; 
(6) in any case where the work has been withdrawn from commerce 
according to the provisions of Section V of this Chapter. 
Article 135 
The bankruptcy of the publisher shall a not cause the cancellation of the 
publishing contract. 
The publishing contract shall however, be revoked if the liquidator, within one 
year of the declaration of bankruptcy, does not continue to carry on the publishing 
business or does not transfer it to some other publisher under the conditions 
specified in Article 132. 
SECTION IV 
CONTRACTS FOR PUBLIC PERFORMANCES 
Article 136 
The contract by which the author grants the right to perform in public. a 
dramatic, dramatico-musical, choreographic, pantomimic or other work destined for 
performance shall, in addition to the general provisions contained in the Codes, be 
governed by the general provisions of this Chapter and by the special provi~ions 
which follow. . 
In the absence of provision to the contrary, the grant of any such right shall 
be neither exclusive nor transferable. 
Article 137 
The author shall be obliged: 
(1) to deliver the text of the work if it has not already been published in printed 
form; 
(2) to guarantee, for the duration of the contract, the undisturbed enjoyment 
of the rights granted. IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 42 
Article 138 
The grantee shall be obliged: 
(1) to perform the work without additions, deletions or variations therein which 
have not been agreed to by the author, and with previous announcement to the 
public, in the customary manner, of the title of the work and the name of the author 
and any translator or arranger of the work: 
(2) to allow the author to supervise the performance; 
(3) not to change, without serious reasons, the principal interpreters of the 
work and the directors of the orchestras and choirs, if appointed in agreement with 
the author. 
Article 139 
The provisions of Articles 127 and 128 shall apply to the performance of the 
work except as concerns the period fixed in the second paragraph of Article 127 
which, in the case of dramatico-musical works, shall be increased to five years. 
Article 140 
If the grantee of the right of performance, notwithstanding the request of the 
author, fails' to continue to perform the work after a first performance or a first cycle 
of performances the author of the musical or literary portion who demonstrates the 
fault of the grantee shall be entitled to request the cancellation of the contract, with 
the consequences specified in the third paragraph of Article 128. 
Article 141 
A contract for the performance of a musical composition shall be governed by 
the provisions of this Section, insofar as they are applicable to the nature and 
object of such contract. 
SECTION V 
WITHDRAWAL OF THE WORK 
FROM COMMERCE 
Article 142 
The author, whenever serious moral reasons arise, shall be entitled to 
withdraw the work frorn commerce, subject to liability to indemnify any persons who 
have acquired rights to reproduce, diffuse, perform or circulate such work. 
This right is personal and is not transmissible. 
In order to exercise this right, the author shall notify his intention to the 
persons to whom he has transferred the said rights, and to the Office of the IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 43 
Chairman of the Council of Ministers shall give public notice of such intention in the 
manner established by the Regulations. 
Within a period of one year from the last date of notification and publication, 
the interested parties may have recourse to the judicial authority to oppose the 
exercise of the claim of the author or to obtain liquidation and compensation for 
damages. 
Article 143 
The judicial authority, if it finds that the grave moral reasons invoked by the 
author exist, shall exhibit the reproduction, diffusion, performance or circulation the 
work, subject to the payment of an indemnity in favor of the interested parties, and 
shall fix the amount of such indemnity and the period for its payment. 
Before the expiration of the period specified in the final paragraph of the 
preceding Article, the judicial authority, upon request and if it finds that urgent 
reasons exist, may provisionally decree such prohibition after such security as it 
may deem necessary has been furnished. 
If the indemnity is not paid within the period fixed by the judicial authority, the 
effect of the decree shall automatically cease. 
The continuation of the reproduction, diffusion, performance or circulation of 
the work after expiration of the period allowed for recourse to the judicial authority, 
as specified in the final paragraph of the foregoing Article, or after any decree 
suspending trading in the work, shall be subject to the civil and penal sanctions of 
this Law for infringement of copyright. 
SECTION VI 
RIGHTS OF THE AUTHOR IN RESPECT OF 
INCREASE IN VALUE OF WORKS OF ART 
Article 144 
The authors of works of art in the form of paintings, sculptures, drawings and 
prints and the authors of original manuscripts shall be entitled to a percentage of 
the amount by which the price of the first public sale of original copies of such 
works and manuscripts exceeds the price of first alienation, and such excess shall 
be presumed. 
The organizer of the sale, the vendor and the purchaser shall, however, be 
entitled to prove that such public sale was not preceded by any act of alienation 
for valuable consideration, or that the price of first alienation was not less than that 
obtained in the public sale. 
Article 145 
The authors of the works indicated in the preceding Article shall also be IP 1Nl lilT AICIl 
Page 44 
entitled to a percentage of the higher value that the original copies of their works 
ultimately acquire in successive public sales, such higher value being the difference 
between the price at the last public sale and the price at the public sale which 
immediately preceded it. 
Article 146 
The percentages specified in the preceding Articles shall be due only if the 
selling price is in excess of 1,000 lire in the case of drawings and prints 5,000 lire 
in the case of paintings, and 10,000 lire in the case of sculptures. The percentages 
shall be payable by the owner selling the work. 
Article 147 
If the price of the original copy of the works specified in this Section, at any 
sale which is not deemed to be public under law, attains 4,000 lire in the case of 
drawings and prints, 30,000 lire in the case of paintings, and 40,000 lire in the case 
of sculptures and also exceeds five times the price of first alienation, however 
effected, such increase in value shall be subject to a payment of 10% to the authors 
of the works, payable by the owner selling them. 
. Proof of the price paid for a work and of the conditions specified in this Article 
shall be the responsibility of the authors. 
The percentage shall be reduced to 5% if the vendor proves, in turn, that he 
acquired the copy at a price not less than half of that realized by him. 
The provisions of Article 145 shall apply for the purpose of determining the 
higher value. 
The provisions of this Article shall not apply to anonymous or pseudonymous 
works, except as provided by Article 8 of this Law in regard to the latter category of 
works. 
Article 148 
For the purposes of the protection specified in the foregoing Articles, replicas 
made by the author shall also be considered as original works, but not 
reproductions otherwise produced. In respect of prints, those which have heen 
derived from original engravings, signed by the author, shall be considered as 
original works. . 
Article 149 
For the purposes of this Law, the following shall be considered public sales: 
(a) sales effected at shows and exhibitions, authorized within the meaning 
of Royal Decree Law of January 21, 1934, No. 454, which became the Law of July 
5, 1934, No. 1607; . 
(b) sales by court order; (c) sales effected by means of public auctions; IP/N/lIITA/C/l 
Page 45 
. (d) sales of works offered for sale at public auctions, but withdrawn from 
such offering as the result of private negotiations; 
( e) sales effected in connection with private exhibitions organized or carried 
out by third parties. 
Article 150 
The rights specified in Articles 144, 145, 146 and 147 shall belong to the 
author and, after his death, and in the absence of testamentary provisions, to his 
spouse and legitimate heirs to the third degree, according to the rules of the Civil 
Code; if there are no successors as above indicated, the rights shall devolve upon 
the insurance and assistance fund of the National Authority for Insurance and 
Assistance of Painters and Sculpt~Jrs Syndicate of Fine Arts. 
Such rights shall continue for the life of the author, and fifty years after his 
death, and may not be the object of alienation or advance renunciation. 
Article t51 
The percentage due upon the price of the first public sale within the meaning 
of Article 144 shall be fixed at the level of 1 0/0 for amounts up to 50,000 lire; 2% for 
amounts exceeding that sum and up to 100,000 lire; and 5% for any further excess. 
Article 152 
The percentages due upon the increase in value determined in accordance 
with Article 145 shall be fixed as follows: 
2% for increases in value not exceeding 10,000 lire 
3% for increases in value in excess of 10,000 lire 
4% for increases in value in excess of 30,000 lire 
5% for increases in value in excess of 50,000 lire 
6% for increases in value in excess of 75,000 lire 
7% for increases in value in excess of 100,000 lire 
8% for increases in value in excess of 125,000 lire 
g0A, for increases in value in excess of 150,000 lire 
10% for increases in value'in excess of 175,000 lire 
Article 153 
The person who legally presides over the public sale of works of art referred 
to in this Section shall be obliged to deduct from the sale price of original copies the 
percentages due within the meaning of Articles 144 and 145 and to pay such 
amount to the S.I.A. E. under the conditions specified in the Regulations. 
Until such time as the payment is effected the person who presides at the sale 
shall, for the purposes of law, be deemed to be the depository of the sums IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 46 
deducted. 
Article 154 
Works of art which, in a public sale, have attained at least the price indicated 
in Article 146, shall be notified to the S.I.A. E. by the person who has lawfully 
directed the sale. The S.I.A. E. shall proceed to effect appropriate registration in the 
manner prescribed by the Regulations. 
In the absence of any imputation of falsity the registration effected shall 
constitute proof of the price obtained for the work. 
Article 155 
The amounts indicated in the Articles of this Section may be modified by Royal 
Decree promulgated in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 1 of the Law of 
January 31, 1926, No. 100. 
CHAPTER III 
JUDICIAL PROTECTION AND SANCTIONS 
SECTION I 
CIVIL PROTECTION AND SANCTIONS 
§ 1. Rules Relating to the Rights of 
Economic Utilization 
Article 156 
Any person having reason to fear the infringement of a right of economic 
utilization belonging to him according to this Law, or who seeks to prevent 
continuation or repetition of infringement which has already occurred, may institute 
judicial proceedings to ensure that his right be recognized and the infringement 
forbidden. 
The action shall be regulated by the rules of this Section and by the provisions 
of the Code of Civil Procedure. 
Article 157 
Any person who is entitled to exercise the rights of public performance of a 
work suitable for such performance, including a cinematographic work or a work of 
musical composition may, in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations, 
request the Prefect of the province to prohibit any performance for which written 
proof of his consent is not shown. IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 47 
The Prefect shall, upon request and on the basis of the notices an documents 
submitted to him, authorize or forbid the performance, subject to the right of the 
interested party to have recourse to the judicial authority for final decision. 
Article 158 
Any person injured by the exercise of a right of economic utilization belonging 
to him may institute legal proceedings for the removal or destruction of the material 
constituting the infringement or for payment for damages. 
Article 159 
The removal or destruction referred to in the foregoing Article may be effected 
only as regards specimens or copies il legally reproduced or disseminated, and 
contrivances employed for reproduction or dissemination which, by their nature, are 
not capable of use for the reproduction or dissemination of other matter. 
If a part of the specimen copy, or contrivance in question is capable of use for 
the reproduction or dissemination of other matter, the interested party may, at his 
expense, request the separation, in his interest, of such part. 
If the specimen, copy, or contrivance of which the removal or destruction is 
requested has special artistic or scientific value the judge, ex officio, may order its 
deposit in a public museum. 
The injured party may, at any time, ask that the specimens, copies, and 
contrivances liable to destruction be delivered to him and their appraised value 
applied to the reparation due him. 
The provisions for destruction and delivery shall not apply to infringing 
specimens or copies acquired in good faith for personal use. 
Article 160 
Removal or destruction shall not be demanded in the last year of the term for 
which the. right endures. Seizure of the work or of the product may be ordered at 
any time up to the end of the said term. If the damages arising from the infringement 
of the right have been paid, seizure may be authorized even at a date prior to .that 
indicated above. 
Article 161 
For the purposes of the proceedings referred to in the previous Articles, the 
juidicial authority may order an inventory a report, an expert appraisal or the seizure 
of all matter constituting an infringement of the right of utilization. 
Seizure may not be effected in the case of works resulting from the 
collaboration of two or more persons, except in case of special gravity or when the 
infringement is imputable to all the coauthors. 
The judicial authority may also, in specially grave cases, order the seizure of IP/N/lIITA/C/1 
Page 48 
profits due to the author of the disputed work or product. 
The provisions of this Section shall also apply to any person circulating, in 
whatever manner, or detaining, for commercial purposes, unauthorized copies of 
computer programs and any contrivance intended exclusively for allowing or 
facilitating the unauthorized removal or the operational disconnection of protection 
devices for computer programs. 
Article 162 
The measures provided for by the preceding Article shall be authorized, upon 
request of the interested party, by an order of the of the Pretore of the district where 
they are to be carried out, whatever may be the value involved; provided that when 
litigation is pending between the parties before a court of two or more judges, the 
measure in question shall be authorized by an order of the Pretore or when the suit 
is pending before a collegiate court, by the investigating judge. 
In case of urgency, the measures may also be authorized by the Pretore of 
the district in which they are to be carried out. 
The same order may require the claimant to deposit suitable security. 
Except in the case where delay would involve danger, the judicial authority, 
before ruling upon the request, shall summon to chambers for a summary hearing, 
the party against whom the measure would be executed and the party making 
request. 
The order shall, before its execution or simultaneously therewith, be notified 
to the party against whom it is to be executed. Execution shall be effected by a 
judicial official and, where necessary, with the assistance of one or more experts 
named in the said decision. 
In the case of public performances, the limitations of days and hours specified 
by the Code of Civil Procedure for measures of such nature shall not apply to the 
execution of orders hereunder. 
Article 163 
Unless otherwise decreed in the order of seizure for the purposes of penal 
justice, the measures referred to in the preceding Articles shall, without need for 
pronouncement by the judicial auth.ority, be of no effect if, within eight days 
following their execution,' action has heen taken before the competent judge to 
confirm the measures in relation to the person against whom they were taken. 
Article 164 
If the actions for which provision is made in this and the following Section are 
instituted by one of the official legal entities referred to in Articles 180 to 184, the 
following rules shall be observed: 
(1) the officers of the above-mentioned entities may, without special 
authorization and upon proof of their status as such, institute the actions mentioned above in the interests of the owner of the rights; IP/N/1/ITA/C/l 
Page 49 
(2) such legal entities shall be relieved of the obligation of furnishing security 
for carrying out acts in respect of which security is prescribed or authorized; 
(3) such legal entities may avail themselves of the procedure for securing 
an injunction under the conditions specified in Articles 3 and 12 of the Royal Decree 
of August 7, 1936 No. 1531, according to the provisions of the Regulations which 
designate the state and public officials authorized to deliver the attestations and to 
receive the declaration specified in the Articles indicated above. 
Article 165 
The author of a work which is the object of the right of utilization may, after the 
assignment of such right, intervene at any time, in order to protect his interests, in 
proceedings instituted by the assignee. 
Article 166 
The judge may, at the instance of the interested party or ex officio, and at the 
expense of the unsuccessful party, order the operative portion of the judgment to 
be published, more than once if necessary, in one or more newspapers. 
Article 167 
The rights of economic utilization recognized by this Law may also be judicially 
enforced by any person legitimately entitled to such rights. 
§2. Special Rules for Proceedings in 
Respect of the Moral Right 
Article 168 
In proceedings concerning the exercise of the morai right, the provisions 
contained in the preceding Section shall be applicable, insofar as the nature of this 
right permits subject to the application of the provisions of the following Articles. 
Article 169 
Actions in defense of the rights bearing upon the authorship of the work shall 
give rise to the sanction of removal and destruction only when the injury cannot be 
remedied by means of the addition or suppression of indications on the work which 
will refer to its authorship or by other rneans of publicity. 
Article 170 IP/NIlIITA/CI 1 
Page 50 
Actions in defense of the rights bearing upon the .integrity of the work shall 
give rise to removal or destruction of the deformed, mutilated or otherwise modified 
copy of the work only when it is not possible to re-establish the said copy in its 
original form at the expense of the party interested in avoiding removal or 
destruction. 
SECTION 11 
PENAL PROTECTION AND PENALTIES 
Article 171 
Without prejudice to the provisions of article 171-bis, any person shall be 
punishable by a fine of from 100,000 to 4,000,000 lire who, without having the right, 
and for any purpose and in any form: 
(a) reproduces, transcribes, recites in public, disseminates, sells or offers 
for sale, or otherwise commercially distributes the work of another person, or 
reveals the contents of such work before it is made public, or introduces or 
circulates within the State copies produced abroad contrary to Italian Law; 
. (b) performs or recites in public or diffuses, with or without variations or 
additions, the work of another person suitable for public performance, or a musical 
composition. Performance includes the public showing of a cinematographic work, 
the performance in public of musical compositions included in cinematographic 
works, and broadcasting by means of a loud-speaker operated in public; 
(c) commits the acts indicated in the preceding clauses by means of any of 
the forms of elaboration referred to in this Law; 
(d) reproduces copies or gives performances in excess of the number which 
he had the right to reproduce or perform; 
(.e) Repealed 
(f) in violation of Article 79, retransmits by wire or by broadcasting, or 
records upon phonograph records or other like contrivances radiophonic 
transmissions or retransmissions, or sells phonograph records or other 
contrivances which have been unlawfully made. 
The penalty shall be imprisonment up to one year or a fine of not less than 
1,000,000 lire If the acts referred to above are ·committed in relation to a work of 
another person which is not intended for public disclosure, or by usurpation of the 
authorship of the work, or with deformation, mutilation or other modification of the 
work and such acts constitute an offense against the honor or reputation of the 
author. 
Art. 171-bis 
Whoever unlawfully duplicates computer programs for purposes of gain, or 
imports, distributes, sells, detains for commercial purposes or leases the said IP/NIlIITA/CI1 
Page 51 
programs, for the selfsame purposes and being aware or having reason to-be aware 
of the fact that such copies were not authorrzed, shall be punished by imprisonment 
for between three months and three years Elnd by a fine of between 500,000 and 
6,000,000 liras. The same punishment shall be not less than imprisonment for six 
months and a fine of 1,000,000 liras if the offence is serious or if the program which 
was unlawfully duplicated, imported, distributed, sold, detained for commercial 
purposes or leased had been previously distributed, sold or leased on media 
bearing the mark of the Italian Authors' and Publishers' Association pursuant to this 
law and to the relevant Regulations as per Hoyal Decree no. 1369 of May 18, 1942. 
Conviction for any of the offences as per paragraph 1 shall entail publication 
of the judgment in one or more newspapers and in one or more specialized 
magazines. 
Article 171-ter 
Imprisonment for between three months and three years and a fine of between _ 
500,000 and 6,000,000 liras shall be imposE~d on any person who: 
a) unlawfully duplicates or reproduces, for purposes of gain and by whatever 
means, works intended for cinematographic or television distribution, records, tapes 
or like media as well as any other media containg phonograms or videograms of 
cinematographic or audiovisual works or sequences of motion pictures; 
b) though not participating in the duplication or reproduction, offers for sale, 
leases or, at all events, grants the use of, for purposes of gain, performs a public 
showing of or broadcasts by television the duplications or reproductions as per 
subheading a); 
c) sells or leases videotapes, music tapes or any other media containing 
phonograms or videograms of cinematographic or audiovisual works or sequences 
of motion pictures which do not bear the mark of the Italian Authors' and Publishers' 
Association (S.I.A. E.) pursuant to this law and to the relevant Regulations. 
The punishment shall be not less than imprisonment for six months and a fine 
of 1,000,000 liras if the offence is serious. C 
./ 
Conviction for any of the offences as per paragraps 1 and 2 shall entail 
publication of the judgment in one more newspapers and in one or more specialized 
magazines. 
Article 171-quater 
Except where the act amounts to a more serious offence, imprisonment for up 
to one year or a penality of between 1,000,000 and 10,000,000 liras shall be 
imposed on any person who, without being authorized to do so and for purposes 
of gain,: 
a) leases or, at all events, grants the use, for whatever purpose, of original 
specimens or of copies or of the media, obta;ned lawfully, of copyright works; IP/N/lIITA/CIl 
Page 52 
b) records the artistic performances as per article 80 on audio, video or 
audiovisual media. 
Art. 172 
If the acts as per article 171 were committed by negligence, the punishment 
shall be a penalty of up to 2,000,000 liras. 
Any person shall be punishable with a like penalty who: 
(a) acts as an intermediary in violation of Articles 180 and 183; 
(b) fails to carry out the obligations specified in Articles 153 and 154; 
(c) violates the provisions of Articles 175 and 176. 
Any person who violates the provisions of Articies 177 and 178 shall he 
punishable by a fine of up to 400.000 lire. 
Article 173 
The penalties specified in the preceding Articles shall apply in all instances 
where the acts in question do not constitute a more serious offense within the 
meaning of the Penal Code or other laws. 
Article 174 
In penal proceedings under this Section the injured party, as a civil 
complainant, may at any time request the penal judge to apply the measures and 
sanctions specified in Articles 159 and 160. 
PART IV 
DOMANIAL FEES 
Article 175 
For every performance or broadcast of a work suitable for public performance, 
or of a musical work, when such work is in the public domain for any reason any 
person who performs or broadcasts such work shall, in accordance with the rules 
contained in the Regulations, be required to pay to the State a domanial fee based 
upon the gross receipts or that part of the receipts which is proportionate to the part 
that the work occupies in the performance or broadcast, irrespective of the purpose 
of the performance or broadcast and of the country of origin of the work. 
The amount of the demanial fee shall be determined by a Presidential Decree. 
The amount of the domanial fee for separate portions of musical works or for 
short music compositions, shall be determined by the "S.I.A. E." in accordance with 
the provisions of the Regulations and upon the basis of the amount of payment 
normally required by the said body in respect of protected works performed under similar conditions. 
Article 176 IP 1Nl lilT AICIl 
Page 53 
The domanial fee shall also be payable in respect of public performances and 
broadcasts of protected elaborations of works in the public domain specified in the 
preceding Article. In such a case, and without prejudice to the rights of the author 
of the elaboration, the amount of the domanial fee shall be determined on the basis 
of one half of what would have been due if the performance or broadcast had had 
as its object the work in the public domain in its original form. 
Art. 177 (1) 
......... omissis ..... 
Art. 178 (1) 
......... omissis ..... 
Art. 179(1) 
......... omissis ..... 
PART V 
OFFICIAL LEGAL ENTITIES 
CONSTITUTED FOR THE 
PROTECTION AND EXERCISE 
Of THE RIGHTS OF AUTHORS 
Article 180 
The right to act as an intermediary in any manner whether by direct or inqirect 
intervention, mediation, agency or representation, or by assignment of the exercise 
of the rights of performance, recitation, broadcasting and mechanical and 
cinematographic reproduction of protected works, shall be reserved· exclusively to 
the S.I.A. E. 
Its activities shall be exercised to effect: 
(1) the granting of licenses and authorizations for the economic utilization 
of protected works, for the account of and in "the interests of the persons entitled to 
the rights; 
(2) the collection of the proceeds arising from the said licenses and 
authorizations; . 
(3) the distribution of the said proceeds among the persons entitled thereto. 
The SIAE shall, moreover, carry on its activities, in accordance with the IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 54 
provisions established by the Regulations, in those foreign countries in which it 
possesses organized representation. 
The said exclusivity of powers shall not prejudice the right of the author or his 
successors in title to exercise directly the rights recognized in their favor by this 
Law. 
In the distribution of the proceeds referred to under clause (3) of the second 
paragraph, a portion shall be reserved to the author in all cases. The limits and the 
methods of distribution shall be determined by the Regulations. 
If, however, the rights of economic utilization of the work are capable of giving 
rise to the collection of funds abroad on hehalf of Italian citizens domiciled or 
resident within the Republic and the owners of these rights do not, for any reason 
effect the collection of such funds, then, after the lapse of one year from the date 
when liability for payment arose, the S.I.A. E. shall be empowered to exercise the 
rights for the account and in the interests of the author or his successors in title. 
The funds mention'ed in the preceding paragraph which are collected by 
S.l.A. E. shall, after deduction of the expenses of collection, be held at the disposal 
of claimants for a period of three years. If this period elapses without such funds 
being claimed, they shall be paid to the National Federation of Professional Artists 
(Confederazione Nazionale professionisti ed artisti) to assist categories of authors, 
writers and musicians. 
Article 181 
In addition to the functions indicated in the foregoing Article and those 
imposed upon it by this Law and other provisions, the S.I.A.E. may, pursuant to its 
statutes, exercise other activities connected with the protection of intellectual works. 
The S.I.A. E. may undertake, for the account of the State or of public or private 
institutions, the services of ascertaining and collecting taxes, contributions and 
fees; 
Article 182 
The S.l.A.E. shall be subject to the supervision of the Office of the Chairman 
of the Council of Ministers, in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations. 
. The statutes of the said organization shall be approved by Presidential Decree 
upon the proposal of the the Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers in 
agreement with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, of Grace and Justice, of Finance 
and of Public Instruction. 
Article 183 
The placing of Italian non-musical dramatic works with theatrical companies 
and enterprises shall be subject to the preliminary authorization of the the Office of 
the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, in accordance with the provisions of the 
Regulations. IP/N/l/IT A/CIl 
Page 55 
The author and his successors causa mortis shall notlJe required to obtain 
such authorization. 
However, translators of foreign works shall be subject to such requirement. 
The placing of such works shall be subject to the supervision of the the Office 
of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers in accordance with the provisions of the 
Regulations. 
Article 184 
Any person who places Italian non musicai dramatic works in foreign countries 
shall make declaration thereof within three days to the Italian Society for Theatrical 
Exchanges (Ente italiano per gli scambi teatrali), and the Society shall transmit 
monthly to the the Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers a list of the 
declarations received, together with any observations and proposals. 
The Italian Society for Theatrical Exchanges shall also exercise such other 
functions as its statutes may requrre. 
The provisions of Article 182 shall apply to the Italian Society for Theatrical 
Exchanges. 
PART VI 
FIELD OF APPLICATION OF 
THE LAW 
Article, 185 
Subject to the provisions of Article 189, this Law shall apply to all works of 
Italian authors, wherever first published. 
, . It shall likewise apply to the works a foreign author domiciled in Italy which are 
first published in Italy. 
Apart from the conditions of protection indicated in the preceding paragraph, 
this Law may likewise be applied to the works of foreign authors when the 
conditions indicated in the following Articles are fulfilled. 
Article 186 
The international conventions for the protection of intellectual works shall 
govern the field of application of this Law to works of foreign authors. 
If the convention contain a general stipulation of reciprocity or of equality of 
treatment, such stipulation shall be interpreted according to the rules of actual 
equivalence of the two protections as provided in the following Articles. 
Article 187 IP/N/lIITA/C/1 
Page 56 In the absence of international agreE!ments, works of foreign authors which do 
not comply with the conditions specified in the second paragraf of Article 185 shall, 
within the limits of actual equivalence, E~njoy the protection granted by this Law, 
provided that the State of which they are citizens grants to the works of Italian 
authors protection which is effectively equivalent. 
If the foreigner is a stateless person or if his nationality is uncertain, the rule 
of the preceding paragraph shall operate with reference to the State in which the 
work is first published. 
ArticlB 188 
Actual equivalence, in accordance 'Nith the following rules, shall be certified 
and regulated by Presidential Decree. 
The duration of protection of a foreign work shall in no case exceed that 
enjoyed by the work in the State of which the foreign author is a citizen. 
If the law of the said State includes a period of compulsory licensing during 
the term of protection, the foreign work shall be submited to an equivalent rule in 
Italy~ 
If the law of the said State. makeB protection subject to compliance with 
formalities, declarations of reservation, or the deposit of copies of the work, or any 
other formality, the foreign work shall, in Italy, be subject to equivalent formalities, 
a·s determined by Presidential Decree. 
The Presidential Decree may, moreover, subject the protection of the foreign 
work to the fulfilment ·of other special forrllalities or conditions. 
Article 189 
The .provisions of Article 185 shelll apply to cinematographic works, to 
phonograph records or Jike contrivances, to the rights of performing actors or 
artists, to photographs and to engineering works, if such works or products are . 
created in Italy or may be considered national works according to this Law or 
any other special law. . 
In the absence of the conditions indicated above, the provision of Articles 186, 
187 and 188 shall be applicable to the said works, rights or products. . 
PART VII 
PERMANENT CONSULTATIVE 
COUNCIL ON COPYRIGHT 
Article 190 
A Permanent Consultative Council on Copyright shall be established under the 
direction of the Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. IP/N/lIITA/C/1 
Page 57 
The Counci I shall proceed to the study of matters bearing upon copyright or 
connected there with and shall furnish information upon questions relating to such 
matters, when so requested by the Office of the Chairman of the Council of 
Ministers, or when special provisions so require. 
Article 191 
The Council shall consist of: 
(a) a Chairman designated by the Office of the Chairman of the Council of 
Ministers. 
(b) one Vice-Chairman each from the Corporations of the Professions and 
Arts of Spectacles, and of Stationery and Printing; 
(c) (suppressed) 
(d) one representative each of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, of Grace 
and Justice, of Finance, and of Corporations and two representatives of the Minister 
of Public Instruction; . 
e) the general director for entertainment of the Ministry of Tourism and 
Entertainment and the heads of the information department and of the department 
for literary, artistic and scientific property at the Office of the Chairman of the 
Council of Ministers; 
(f) the Presidents of the Confederations of Professionals, of Artists, and of 
Industrialists, and three representatives of each of the Confederations above 
indicated, especially competent in the matter of copyright, as well as a 
representative of the Confederation of the Workers of Industry ("Confederazione 
dei lavoratori dell'industrialf
) designated by the National Confederation of Stage 
Workers CFederazione nazionale dei lavoratori de.llo spetacolo"). 
(g) the President of S.I.A. E.; 
(h) three copyright experts, designated by the Chairman of the Council of 
Ministers; 
The member of the Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers in a 
decree of the Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and shall remain 
in office for a period of four years. 
Article 192 
The Council shall meet in ordinary session each year upon a date fixed by the 
Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, and in extraordinary session on 
all occasions when so requested by the said President. 
Article 193 
The Council may be convened: (a) in generai assembly; (b) in special 
Committees. 
All members of the Council shall participate in general assemblies. The IP/N/lIITA/C/1 
Page 58 
special Committees shall, from time to time, be constituted for the study of given 
questions, as directed by the Chairman. 
The Chairman of the Council of Ministers' upon the proposal of the Chairman 
of the Council, may also invite to meetings, but without the right to vote, persons 
other than members of the Council who may be specially competent on the 
questions to be considered. 
Article 194 
The secretariat shall be provided by the Director of the Office of Literary 
Scientific and Industrial Property, established under the the Office of the Chairman 
of the Council of Ministers. 
Article 195 
The members of the Council shall receive attendance fees for each day of 
sitting, in accordance with current regulations governing such matters. 
PART VIII 
GENERAL, TRANSITIONAL AND 
FINAL PROVISIONS 
Article 196 
The place in which the rights of utilization specified in Article 12 et seq. 
of this Law are first exercised, shall be deemed to be the place of first publication. 
As regards works of art, cinematographic works, phonograph records and 
other like contrivances for the reproduction of sounds or voices, works of 
photography, and any other work identified by its material form, the place of maki'ng 
or manufacture shall be deemed to be the place of first publication. 
'Article 197 
Publication and performance contracts shall be subject to a graduated 
registration tax of 0.50%. 
Article 198 
There shall be set aside the budget of the Minister of in a special section 
of the ordinary portion thereof, as from the budgetary year in which this Law comes 
into force, the sum of 60 million lire, derived from the profits of the fees specified in 
Articles 173 and 176, to be bestowed in the manner specified in the Regulations in 
favor of the Assistance and Insurance Fund of Syndical Associations of Authors, Writers and Musicians. 
Article 199 IP/N/lIITA/CIl 
'Page 59 
This Law shall also apply to works published in any manner either before or 
after its coming into force. 
The legal effects of acts and contracts made or concluded before its coming 
into force shall remain entirely unaffected and shall continue in accordance with the 
provisions then in force. 
Article 199 bis 
This law shall also apply to computer programs created before the date of its 
entry into force, without prejudice to any acts concluded or to any rights acquired 
prior to the said date. 
Article 200 
Until the coming into force of the ne'A' Code of Civil Procedure, the functions 
conferred by Article 162 upon the investigating judge shall be exercised by the 
President of the Division before whom the case is pending. 
Article 201 
In respect of works published and products made or manufactured before the 
coming into force of this Law which are subject for the first time to the obligation of 
deposit or other formalities, the said deposit and formalities must be fulfi"ed within 
the time and according to the rules established by the Regulations. 
'Article 202 
For the purposes of Article 147, the prices obtained from sales effected before 
the coming into force of this Law shall not be taken into consideration. 
Article :203 
. Special regulations relating to the .exClusive right of tele'vision may be issued 
by Presidential Decree. 
Until such time as the Regulations referred to in the preceding paragraph have 
been issued television shall be regolated by the general principles of this Law, 
insofar as they are applicable. 
Article 204 
As from the coming into force of this Law, the Italian Society of Authors and IP/N/lIITA/C/1 
Page 60 
Publishers shall assume the name S.I.A. E. 
(Societa Italiana Autori Editori). 
Article 205 
The Law of March 18, 1926, No. 256, which converted into law the Royal 
Decree Law of November 7, 1925, No. 1950, containing provisions relating to 
copyright and the successive laws and modifications of the said Law, are repealed. 
The Law of June 17, 1937, No. 1251, which converted into law the Royal 
Decree Law of February 18, 1937, containing rules relating to the protection of the 
products of the phonographic industry, and the Law of June 2, 1939, No. 739, which 
converted into law the Royal Decree Law of December 5, 1938, No. 2115, 
containing special measures for deferred broadcasting of artistic performances, as 
well as any other laws or provisions of law contrary to and incompatible with the 
provisions of this Law, are also repealed. 
Article 206 
The Regulations for carrying out this Law shall fix the penalties for violation 
of provisions of the said Regulations. 
The said penalties may include a fine of not more than 320.000 lire. 
This Law shall come into force simultaneously with the Regulations; the latter 
shall be promulgated within a period of six months following publication of this Law. 
Within the same period, a new statute governing "S.I.A.E." shall also be 
issued. 
It is hereby ordered that this Law, inscribed with the Seal of State, shall be 
inserted in the official collection of Laws and Decrees of the Kingdom of Italy, and 
all are required to observed it and to cause it to be observed as a Law of the State. 