There’s a word that still arouses too much indifference in Italy: patent.
In common parlance, it’s often seen as a technical act, a mere formality to be delegated to consultants, a stamp to obtain at the end of the innovation process. Yet, in the world where global companies compete, a patent is anything but a legal ornament: it is a strategic currency, a measure of industrial power, and an instrument of economic policy.
The recent analysis published by ANSA (link), based on the Report on Research and Innovation in Italy by the National Research Council (CNR) and Mediobanca, confirms this in stark terms.
Italy remains significantly behind in the sectors defining the new frontier of development: digital technologies, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. We are growing slowly — and, above all, in the wrong sectors.
While Germany, France, and the Netherlands are consolidating their patent presence in high-tech fields, Italy continues to lead in mechanics, packaging, and transportation — solid sectors, but mature ones.
This is not just a quantitative problem. It is a cultural problem.
In my work, I see brilliant start-ups and research centers hesitating to file patents every day. They fear the costs, underestimate the value of the “first-mover advantage,” or believe that a national filing is sufficient in a global economy. By doing so, they hand over their competitive advantage to other countries — more structured, and quicker in translating knowledge into legal and economic value.
The data speak for themselves: according to the CNR’s analysis, between 2002 and 2022, Italy — along with Germany — was the European country with the lowest growth in patents registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A flat trajectory that reflects our system’s inability to transform research into industrial property, innovation into market presence, and invention into profitability.
Behind this delay lies not only a lack of investment in R&D, but also a structural deficit in the awareness of innovation’s legal value.
The idea of “protecting” always comes after the idea of “creating.” We invent, we experiment, we present products to the market — and only afterwards do we think about the patent. It’s a reactive approach, not a strategic one. Meanwhile, the most dynamic jurisdictions — the United States, China, Korea, Israel — are building ecosystems in which patent protection is an integral part of the corporate life cycle.
However, the picture is not without encouraging signs.
Italian universities, especially the Polytechnics of Milan and Turin, are increasing both the number of patents filed and, more importantly, the number of licenses granted. Public research centers are beginning to understand that an industrial property title is not an end in itself, but a means to engage in dialogue with businesses.
The legal system, too — with the strengthening of the Unified Patent Court and a growing specialization of case law — is offering faster and more predictable tools for the protection of rights.
I do not believe Italy has a creativity problem — it has a system problem.
We need an ecosystem in which the culture of patents becomes an organic component of industrial strategy, not an accessory formality. This requires a shift in mindset: to regard a patent as a medium-term investment, a value multiplier, and a guarantee for attracting capital and international partnerships. In a knowledge-based economy, those who do not patent do not compete — and those who do not compete, disappear.
Italy’s delay can — and must — become an opportunity. We have vast potential in emerging segments — from AI applied to industry, to green biotech, to the Internet of Things — where global demand is high and our national presence is still weak. If we can shift our perspective from protecting the product to protecting the vision, we can once again play a central role in Europe’s innovation landscape.
Protecting an invention is never a merely defensive act: it is a gesture of trust in the future.
And perhaps this is exactly what we must recover — the ability to believe that Italian knowledge can not only inspire, but also lead, with the same strength with which our workshops and studios once helped shape the very idea of progress.