European and international cooperation

In 2025, the DGPI-UIBM further intensified its participation in European cooperation programmes coordinated by EUIPO, contributing to the projects set out in the Strategic Plan 2030 and to the initiatives of the European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN). The Office took part in working groups dedicated to the convergence of practices, the modernisation of IT tools and the development of common user services, including those targeting small and medium-sized enterprises within the European IP Information Centre (EIPIC).

Support continued for the European "Ideas Powered for Business" Fund (SME Fund), available to SMEs established in the European Union and in Ukraine. The 2025 edition provided for a total financial allocation of 22.5 million euros, and 2,304 Italian SMEs submitted applications for the registration of trademarks, designs and patents. The high volume of requests led to the early closure of Voucher 2 (trademarks and designs) and Voucher 3 (patents), confirming the strong interest of the business community in Industrial Property protection instruments.

With regard to cooperation with the EPO, the Directorate participated in the implementation of the EPO Strategic Plan 2028, contributing to monitoring activities and to initiatives aimed at improving patent services. Furthermore, Italy, through the DGPI-UIBM, holds the position of Vice-President of the Select Committee of the EPO’s Administrative Council, which is responsible for supervising EPO activities relating to the tasks assigned to it in the context of unitary patent protection.

In parallel, within the framework of WIPO, the DGPI-UIBM took part in the general assemblies and technical committees, strengthening dialogue with member states and contributing to work on international registration systems.

The Directorate also participated in the meetings of the Group of Experts on Industrial Property (GIPP), the EU Council Working Groups on intellectual property and the informal TRIPs meetings, ensuring coordination with the European Commission (DG GROW) and EUIPO for the implementation of the new regulatory framework on Geographical Indications for craft and industrial products.

As regard the Unified Patent Court (UPC), in 2025 the DGPI-UIBM continued to provide technical support to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and other competent administrations, participating in the work of the Administrative Committee, of which it is a full member, and of the Budget Committee. This activity was carried out in close coordination with the other central administrations involved (the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance). The UPC Central Division in Milan, inaugurated on 1 July 2024, operated at full capacity throughout 2025, contributing to strengthening Italy's role in the European patent protection system. As of 31 December 2025, a total of 1,058 proceedings had been initiated before the UPC Court of First Instance (compared to 635 at end-2024), of which 505 were infringement actions and 90 were invalidity actions. As of 30 June 2025 (date of the last official data collection), the local division had examined 37 proceedings, while the central division had 18 under examination.