OPICC - Observatory on Intellectual Property, Competition, and Communications

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The OPICC (Observatory on Intellectual Property, Competition, and Communications) aims to monitor and comment on key regulatory developments, court rulings, and industry self-regulation in the areas of invention and utility model patents, trademarks, commercial advertising, biotechnology and plant varieties, software and semiconductor topography protection, competition law, and copyright concerning intellectual creations for the goods and services market, with a particular focus on the activities of the Italian Competition Authority. The Observatory also monitors the telecommunications, information and media, and electricity sectors in the same way, and studies issues related to the liberalization of the gas and local public services sectors. The primary reference is the Italian legal system, which is in constant connection with the European and international landscape.

The OPICC also provides professional training for legal experts in intellectual property, competition, and the regulation of public utilities. It offers consulting and knowledge support services, both for the submission or critique of draft laws or regulations currently being proposed or discussed in the relevant regulatory forums (national, European Union, and international), and for their development across the various sectors of interest.

The Observatory oversees the production of the annual journal “Concorrenza e mercato” (ISSN 1720-2698), published by Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre. This peer-reviewed journal has been classified as an “A”-level publication in Area 12 since 2011. Volume indexes from 2002, along with previews of all articles from 2009 to the latest issue, are available on the Observatory’s website.