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.
Italy Ranks 25th in the Protection of Property Rights
Italy has entered the world’s Top 25 for property rights protection for the first time, according to the 2025 report of the International Property Rights Index (IPRI). With a 16% increase compared to the previous year, the country has risen from 36th to 25th place, after a long period of stability in 46th position.
The IPRI measures the strength of property rights in a country, considering three main components:
- LP (Legal and Political Environment) → quality of institutions and rule of law
- PPR (Physical Property Rights) → protection of physical property and access to credit
- IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) → protection of intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyright)
This achievement reflects an overall improvement in Italy’s competitiveness and technological innovation, demonstrating the country’s ability to innovate and grow economically.
Another recent report — the fifth edition of the Report on Research and Innovation in Italy, produced by three institutes of the National Research Council — highlighted that Italy maintains a solid presence in the more traditional sectors linked to advanced manufacturing, such as precision mechanics, transportation, and industrial engineering.
However, a critical issue also emerges from this report: the dispersion of technological knowledge. The increasing share of patents developed by Italian inventors but owned by foreign groups underscores a growing dependence on foreign business actors.
This phenomenon is even more significant when one considers that patents developed by foreign inventors and owned by Italian entities are significantly fewer in number, particularly in emerging technology sectors.
On the other hand, a positive sign comes from the increasingly important role of Italian universities and research centers, which are experiencing gradual but steady growth in patenting activity, especially in knowledge-intensive sectors and protect their inventions on an international scale. Taking for example US patents issued to national universities as an index of innovation liveliness, the Politecnico di Milano is the academic institution with the highest number of patents registered in the United States, showing significant growth during the period taken into consideration (2002-2022). It is followed by the National Research Council, the University of Bari, the University of Bologna, and the Sapienza University of Rome.
In summary, both reports indicate that Italian innovation is alive and kicking and constantly growing.