Ingannevole messaggio pubblicitario, illecita appropriazione di copyright o falsificazione nel timbro ARRETINVM? Nota sui rapporti fra archeologia e storia del diritto romano

The contribution looks into a specifi c case of stamping, namely the use of the term ARRETINUM which occurs many time on red glazed tableware of the Imperial age. The examination of the archaeological and epigraphic findings and their combination with the information coming from Roman Law, as well as also the consideration of other cases in which an identifying adjective is used for a specifi c locality, serves for the development of hypotheses which can supply an explanation for the use of this unique stamping. The questions in this respect are all the more complicated as this stamping is to be found also precisely on products which, without any doubt, have nothing to do with Arrezzo. All this leads to a series of refl ections which perhaps make the intention of the producer clearer who marked the goods with this specifi c seal. At the same time, legal understanding can be expanded by the question whether the misuse of the seal offended against principles which were applied by normative jurisdiction for the falsifi cation of documents.