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The Commerce Department was set up towards the end of 2000, on the recommendation of the Operations Review carried out in the Ministry for Economic Services.

In 1969 Malta ratified the Universal Copyright Convention and in 1977 joined the World Intellectual Property Organisation. In 1994 Malta became a founder member of the World Trade Organisation and was thus bound by the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights as from 2000. That very same year the century old laws governing copyright, patents and trademarks were repealed and replaced by new legislation. In 2002 new legislation concerning design was also introduced.

Vincenzo Marich, born circa 1813, registered the business, known today as V. Marich and Co., in 1838. Vinenzo was marrier to Natalizia Lo Re (Lore) and had no children of their own. By 1862, the business received its first appointment by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales in 1862, where permission to affix "By appointment to His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales" over the door of their establishment was granted. Vincenzo probably retired from the business around 1864, handing over the business to Lawrence Rizzo Marich.

Lawrence Rizzo Marich, who was the first cousin, once removed of Vincenzo Marich, was first involved in the business as an apprentice to help in the daily running of the business. By the time the business was handed over to Lawrence, the company had taken the new established name V. Marich and Co. since the first mention of this company was in the mid-1860s.

Bice Mizzi nee Vassallo was a Maltese pianist, considered among the foremost pianists of her generation. She is the daughter of composer Paolino Vassallo and Maria Anna nee Grech, and the wife of former Maltese Prime Minister Enrico Mizzi. Her first notable performance was in 1909 where she performed a recital at the Manoel Theatre under the patronage of the Bishop of Malta Pietro Pace, organised in aid of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Sliema. She also performed a recital at Wigmore Hall in London and performed at a concert by Maltese composer Carmelo Pace in 1946. Mizzi had a son, Dun Fortunat Mizzi. She died in 1985.

Mons Fortunat Mizzi was a Maltese priest and the founder of the Moviment Azzjoni Socjali. He was the only child of Prime Minister Enrico Mizzi and Bice Mizzi. Mizzi was ordered a priest in 1952 and founded the Moviment Azzjoni Socjali in 1955 amongst other trade unions and cooperatives. He was a member for many years in the Church’s councils and helped in the translation of the Vatican II Council documents. In 2010, together with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Mizzi set up the Fortunato and Enrico Mizzi Foundation to administer property, archives and other memorabilia of the Mizzi Family.