Patents – Heritage Moranduzzo – Florence 1978
The Patent that Changed the Artificial Christmas Tree Forever.
On January 31, 1978, Dario Moranduzzo filed patent No. 022889 in Florence, Italy: curvilinear leaves imitating nature. An official document of the Ministry of the Italian Republic.
Every realistic artificial Christmas tree that exists today-the ones with the soft needles, the curved leaves, the texture that mimics a real fir tree-is derived from an insight patented in Florence on Jan. 31, 1978. Owner: Dario Moranduzzo. The solution: cutting plastic needles curvilinearly instead of straight.
Before this patent, all artificial trees in the world had an unsolvable aesthetic problem: the needles were flat, straight, uniform. You could see immediately that they were artificial. Not because the material was wrong, but because the cut was wrong. And no one had yet solved the problem in a systematic and documented way.
The technical problem: why flat needles don’t work
In nature, the needles of a fir tree are not flat. They have a curvature that varies along their length, with the concavity pointing toward the branch. This shape is what makes them soft to the touch, visually dense and able to catch light naturally.
In the artificial trees of the 1960s and 1970s, needles were produced by blanking PVC strips with straight blades. The result was a flat, symmetrical needle with sharp edges. Dario Moranduzzo solved the problem by changing the geometry of the blanking process: instead of blanking the strips with a straight course, he blanked them with a curvilinear course. The resulting needle had concavity facing the axis of the branch-exactly like a natural needle.
The patent: official data
- Official title
- Artificial Christmas Tree with Curved Leaves
- Holder
- MORANDUZZO DARIO, Ulmo Scandicci (Florence)
- Filing date
- January 31, 1978 – Florence Patent Office
- Question number
- 1154478 – Province Code: FI
- Date granted
- March 15, 1985
- Granting body
- Ministry of Industry Trade and Crafts – Central Patent Office, Rome
- Patent representative
- Patent Office Ing. Lazzaro Martini, Via Brunelleschi 1, Florence
- Protected innovation
- Slicing of plastic ribbons with curvilinear pattern – leaves with concavity facing the axis of the branch, mimicking the natural leaves of conifers
- Original document PDF
- Download the official patent →
Original patent publicly available at Archive.org:
archive.org/details/patent-for-industrial-model-albero-of-natal-artificial-with-curvilinear-leaves-moranduzzo-1985
What does “curvilinear leaves” mean?
The patent protects an industrial ornamental design: it protects the shape of the needle, not the material. The protection applies to all artificial Christmas trees whose branches have leaves with a curvilinear profile, with the concavity facing the central axis of the branch.
Rectilinear vs Curvilinear – the difference in practice
- Straight needle (pre-1978): flat section, parallel edges – obvious artificial effect, stiff to the touch, reflects light evenly
- Curvilinear needle (Moranduzzo patent): curved profile with concavity toward the branch – natural effect, soft to the touch, catches light like a real needle
- The qualitative leap: it is not the material that makes the difference, it is the cutting geometry
Artificial Christmas trees always had only rectilinear leaves because plastic ribbons were sheared straight. Moranduzzo patented curvilinear slicing — resulting in leaves that mimic natural conifers.
30 years of innovation before patent
From patent to Real Touch PE: the evolution continues
The 1978 patent established a geometric principle applied to PVC. Moranduzzo then transferred that principle to PE – polyethylene: with PE it is possible to mold each needle in three dimensions with injection molds, adding micro-veining, color variations and rough tactile texture. The result is the Real Touch: a needle indistinguishable from a natural needle.
From Warp 1978 to Real Touch today
- 1978 – Geometric principle: curvilinear blanking of PVC. First artificial needle with natural shape certified by official patent
- Mixed PE evolution: outer PE Real Touch branches + inner PVC for thickness. The curvilinear principle becomes three-dimensional
- Today – Total Real Touch 100% PE: each needle injection molded in 3D molds. Spruce Everest (11,020 tips, 99 branches) is the most advanced realization of the 1978 principle
DocItaly International Award 2025
Awarded to Matteo Moranduzzo on December 15, 2025 at Palazzo Valentini, Rome. ANDI – National Doc Association Italy, 10th edition. Same ceremony as Lino Banfi, Mario Lavezzi and Luigi Busà Olympic champion.
Frequently asked questions
From invention to product – discover the collection
Trees directly descended from the principle patented in 1978. Real Touch 100% PE, chosen by Dior, displayed at Harrods. Made in Italy since 1946.