Following the abolition of the "professor's privilege" reported here, on 26 September 2023, the Italian Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy adopted the guidelines mentioned in Article 65.5 of the Italian Industrial Property Code ("IPC") ("Guidelines"), aimed at providing principles and criteria for regulating the contractual relationships between the research institutions to which the inventors belong and the entities funding the research in the context of commissioned research activities (e.g., service, development and/or research agreements). The purpose of the Guidelines is to guide the negotiation between the parties without undermining their contractual freedom, offering alternative scenarios that the parties may take into consideration in light of the concrete kind of activity and interests involved, trying to strike a balance between the parties' opposing interests.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
