Introduction

Three key developments defined UIBM's work in 2025: the launch of a new industrial property right (specifically the Protected Geographical Indication – PGI) offering Europe-wide protection for Made in Italy excellence beyond the agri-food sector; record-high numbers of patent and trademark applications; and a sustained financial commitment to supporting the use of industrial property tools and fostering technology transfer.

A landmark moment came when the UIBM began accepting the first registration applications for Protected Geographical Indications (PGIs) for craft and industrial products, a new EU-level industrial property right established under EU Regulation 2023/2411 to promote local and regional territories and their productions on the international stage. This milestone was the result of extensive regulatory and technical-IT groundwork laid by the UIBM from 2024 onwards, including the preparation of the relevant legislative delegation norms, culminating in the Government's adoption of Legislative Decree No. 51 of 2 April 2026, which aligned Italian law with EU legislation and made the new European non-agri GI protection system fully operational in Italy.

2025 also saw record applications for the two main industrial property rights: patents for invention reached almost 12,000 applications (+18.2% year-on-year), while new trademark applications approached 46,000 (+8.0% compared to 2024). These figures reflect both the positive impact of the 2023 industrial property reform and the growing effectiveness of UIBM's ongoing efforts to promote industrial property awareness — including the fight against counterfeiting — through seminars, master courses, exhibitions, and the publication of sector analyses and studies.

On the incentives front, financial support for SMEs remained a priority in 2025. A total budget of €32 million was allocated to fund the three annual calls for the Patents+ [Brevetti+], Trademarks+ [Marchi+] and Designs+ [Disegni+] incentive schemes, managed by the Directorate General for Business Incentives. A further €2 million was made available through a dedicated call for trade associations to support the promotion of collective and certification marks in international markets. An additional €6.5 million was directed towards technology transfer, funding new projects submitted by Italian universities and research centres while ensuring the continuity of those already underway.

Finally, 2025 recorded more than 5,500 documented cases of enforcement under Articles 49–56 of the "Made in Italy" Law (Law No. 206 of 2023), a rise of over 50% on 2024, reflecting a stronger and more effective response to the counterfeit goods market, particularly through the application of higher financial penalties on purchasers of counterfeit products.