The aim of these articles is to keep our Clients and Associates updated about developments in the sector of Intellectual Property in general and our firm in particular. In this way, we wish to provide a broader view of the tools that the field of trade marks, domain names, patents, designs and related rights offers to entrepreneurs to enhance and protect their efforts in researching and developing new solutions and ideas.
Innovative Italy Races Ahead in 2025: Industrial Patents Hit New Record
The landscape of industrial property in Italy is undergoing an extraordinary transformation. Despite a complex global macroeconomic backdrop, the latest "Patent Activity Report - Year 2025" ("Report Attività Brevettuali – Anno 2025") published by the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (UIBM) describes a national system in high ferment and capable of constant renewal.
The Numbers Behind the Growth
The most striking figure of 2025 concerns Industrial Inventions. Patent applications for industrial inventions, the technological heart of IP protection, reached 11,996, marking a significant 18.2% leap compared to the previous year.
Utility Models are also growing remarkably (+13.2% with 2,073 filings), proving that the Italian productive fabric continues to find value in "incremental" innovations that improve the functionality of existing products.
This confirms that Italian companies are investing in high-tech solutions; they are no longer content merely to manufacture products, they are rather aiming to ‘own’ the technical solution. As recently stated by the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, "Italy is accelerating on innovation... This is a tangible sign of the vitality of our companies, research centres, and universities, which continue to turn ideas into value."
The Map of Ingenuity: Where is Italy Patenting?
The territorial distribution of patents in 2025 mirrors the historical strength of Italy’s industrial districts:
- Lombardy: Remains the heart of the system, contributing 29.71% of national industrial invention filings.
- Piedmont: 20.49%
- Veneto: 11.31%
- Emilia-Romagna: 10.71%
- Lazio: 8.51%
- Tuscany: 4.99%
Tech Sectors & The New Academic Frontier
Where is the focus of Italian inventors shifting? The 2025 report highlights three key pillars:
- Health & Biomedical (33%): The leading sector, particularly in academic research.
- Chemistry & New Materials (10.2%): Fundamental to the green transition.
- Machinery & Equipment (8.4%): The backbone of Italian exports.
A revolutionary shift concerns universities and research bodies: With 594 applications filed (+20.7%), the academic world has reached a historic peak. This success is closely tied to the reform of Art. 65 of the Italian IP Code, which abolished the "professor’s privilege." Ownership now rests with the university or research institution, fostering professional portfolio management and easier technology transfer to the industrial world. Leaders in the trend include Politecnico di Milano, Fondazione IIT, and CNR.
The Unitary Patent: Less Bureaucracy, More Europe
The 2025 report notes a 13.3% drop in national validations of European patents, but this should not be misleading. It is, instead, a clear sign that businesses are opting for the Unitary Patent. Active since 2023, it allows for the protection of an idea across 18 EU States with a single procedure. As of December 31, 2025, there were 77,464 Unitary Patents in force, with Italy proudly holding a 6.7% share.
Safeguards for Applicants
One aspect that is often overlooked, yet crucial for applicants, is the transparency of the administrative procedure.
In 2025, the Italian Patent and Trademark Office issued over 27,410 measures. In this connection, it is worth noting that the Office strictly applies Art. 173 of the Italian IP Code, which requires the issuance of an objection for every formal or substantive defect, setting a deadline of at least two months to remedy the deficiency. In 2025, out of 4,215 notifications of defects, around half were resolved positively without leading to rejection, demonstrating a system that seeks dialogue with the applicant.
Protection Strategies: Conversion
The report also confirms the effectiveness of an often-underestimated regulatory tool, namely conversion into a utility model, as provided for in Art. 84 of the Italian IP Code. In 2025, as many as 289 applications originally filed as industrial inventions were converted into utility models. This flexibility allows the value of an investment to be preserved even when the Office considers that the ‘inventive step’ is insufficient for an industrial invention patent but nevertheless recognises an innovative utility.
In this rapidly evolving scenario, our firm remains at your disposal to guide Clients in choosing the most effective patent protection strategy for their innovations.