The term ‘book publishing’ refers to the combination of elements that define a book’s external appearance. It may therefore include the overall editorial decisions relating to the book’s title (where this is distinctive to the work), the layout, the images chosen for the cover, and any promotional bands.
Book publishing plays a crucial role in the marketing of a book, as it often has a decisive influence on readers’ purchasing decisions.
For this reason, there is often debate over whether it can be protected independently of the published literary work.
Hypothetically, in fact, publishing could constitute a creative work in and of itself. This can occur, for example, when a publisher develops a completely original font for its book covers or adopts entirely unique graphic designs.
There are also certain regulations that protect published works from unfair competition. Specifically, these are set forth in Article 102 of the Copyright Law and Article 2598 of the Civil Code; however, the scope of their application to book publishing is far from clear.
In this context, the order issued by the Court of Milan on February 26, 2026, is therefore of particular significance. According to this order, “publishing” can constitute a distinctive feature of a publishing company and, as such, is eligible for protection.
In the case at hand, a publishing house holding the rights to the Italian editions of certain foreign literary works had filed a lawsuit alleging that a competitor—which held the rights to the same works for editions in other languages—had completely and systematically copied its graphic design.
In this situation, the Court of Milan held that such conduct constituted unfair competition in terms of both slavish imitation and parasitic competition. Regarding the former, the order recognized the distinctive character of the products’ external form and the confusing effect resulting from the slavish imitation of every single element of that form.
The repeated use of the imitation strategy over time, on the other hand, was assessed as an element sufficient to constitute parasitic competition.
(Fabrizia Serpieri)
