News

Companies, Maritime Transport, Sea Economy

Total value“180 billion, equal to approximately 10% of the national GDP, direct added value of approximately 65 billion. “180 billion of total value, equal to approximately 10% of the national GDP, a direct added value of approximately 65 billion, over 230 thousand businesses and more than 1 million employees, or 4.1% of total employment and with one of the highest economic multipliers: for every euro produced directly, another 1.8 are activated in the national economy, which become 2.7 in the maritime transport sector alone”. Thus the Delegate of the President of Confindustria for the Sea Economy and President of Confitarma who emphasizes the...

Read more

Companies, International trade, Exports of dual-use items

The guidelines in Recommendation No. 2025/683 EU With Recommendation (EU) No. 2025/683 of 8 April 2025, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 16 April 2025, the European Commission urged Member States to improve the coordination of national control lists that may be adopted pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No. 2021/821 (the so-called Dual Use Regulation), in order to make the common system of export control of dual-use items more effective and efficient. In particular, Article 9 of the Dual Use Regulation allows Member States to adopt control lists at national level, with notification of the same...

Read more

Intellectual Property, Copyright Protection, Works Generated Solely by Artificial Intelligence, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Judgment of March 18, 2025 No. 23-5233

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recently confirmed that works generated solely by artificial intelligence without human intervention are not eligible for copyright protection in the United States. This decision concerns an image created by an artificial intelligence system developed by …...

Read more

Energy, Green Deal, Duties, Italian Industry, European Competitiveness, Analysis, Forecasts and Solutions by the Confindustria Study Center

ITALY SLOWS DOWN IN 2025 BUT GATHERS UP IN 2026 In 2024, Italian GDP grew by +0.7% per year, thanks to fairly widespread contributions among the components: household consumption (+0.2%), gross fixed investments (+0.1%), collective consumption (+0.2%) and net exports (+0.4%), which offset the decumulation of inventories. In the first quarter of 2025, the economic indicators portray a phase still characterized by weak expansion. Italian GDP in 2025 is expected to grow almost in line with that observed in 2024: +0.6%.  In 2026, however, it is expected to regain momentum, at +1.0%. For 2025, there is a downward revision of -0.3 percentage...

Read more

Banking, Contracts, Mortgage, Validity of the “solution” mortgage, Supreme Court of Cassation, United Sections, Judgment no. 5841 of 05/03/2025

“Solutory” mortgage used to settle the borrower’s previous debt exposure - Validity - Existence - Effectiveness as an executive title - Configurability. The United Civil Sections – in relation to the issue referred by the Second Civil Section with the interlocutory order no. 18903 of 10 July 2024 – have pronounced the following principles: «The completion of the loan agreement, with the consequent birth of the obligation of repayment by the borrower, occurs when the sum borrowed, even if not physically delivered, is placed in the legal availability of the borrower himself, through crediting to a current account, without prejudice to the...

Read more

Intellectual Property, Precautionary measure, Art. 132 c.p.i., Supreme Court of Cassation, First Civil Section, Interlocutory Order no. 3332 of 10/02/2025

Intellectual property rights - Precautionary measure - Failure to start the trial on the merits - Ineffectiveness - Art. 132 c.p.i. - Contradiction with art. 9, paragraph 5, of dir. 2004/48/EC - Preliminary question. The First Civil Section has ordered, pursuant to art. 267 TFEU, the transmission of the documents to the Court of Justice of the European Union, requesting a ruling on the following preliminary question: «Shall the Court of Justice declare whether art. 9, paragraph 5, of dir. 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights, must be...

Read more

Italian Industry, Export of machinery with high intensity of Automation, Creativity and Technology (ACT)

Capital goods Italian exports of high-intensity Automation, Creativity and Technology (ACT) machinery are worth 32.1 billion euros, with a growth potential estimated at 8 billion. This is highlighted by the second edition of INGENIUM, the report by the Confindustria Study Center created with the support of Federmacchine. Advanced markets absorb 21.6 billion euros, while emerging ones 10.5 billion. The Americas are recording the greatest growth, with Mexico being the main outlet market. The additional potential is distributed rather evenly between advanced (4.6 billion) and emerging (3.3 billion) countries, suggesting companies to increase their market shares in both. In the advanced, the United States leads (+760 million), followed by...

Read more

Industrial property, EU designs reform

The EU design legislative reform represents a significant modernization of the design protection regime, in line with current technologies and economic realities. It increases legal certainty, reduces complexity and widens the accessibility of design rights, greatly benefiting creators and businesses across Europe. Purpose of the reform The reform aims to: modernize, clarify and strengthen design protection; improve the accessibility of design protection in the EU; ensure greater interoperability of design protection systems in the EU; harmonize the divergent spare parts protection regime across the EU. The phases of the reform define the date of application of the new legislation: The amending regulation enters into force on the twentieth...

Read more

Cinema, Film Market, Data on Cinema in Theaters in 2024

The Italian film market and the characteristics of the cinema audience in 2024 In 2024, the Italian box office grossed over €493.9 million for a number of attendances equal to approximately 69.7 million tickets sold. This is a result in line with 2023 (-0.4% takings and -1.3% attendance), despite the international product offering conditioned by last year's strikes and the strong competition from major sporting events during the summer, which confirms the newfound solidity of the market in the path of growth and recovery from the pandemic years. The box office data for Italian productions (including co-productions) are also in line with the...

Read more

Energy, Hydroelectric Assets, Industrial Policies, Energy Release

Indications from Confindustria Italia Separate the valorization of long-term negotiated energy from that of the spot market “It is not clear why Italy should follow a different path of liberalization compared to other countries. It is necessary to defend hydroelectricity from foreign competition”, thus the Delegate of the President of Confindustria for Energy, relaunches the appeal to the government on hydroelectricity to protect the safety and competitiveness of the sector. There are many risks for Italy, “an operator can decide who to give energy to. And a foreigner – Regina underlined – would feel fewer constraints towards a market” different from his own...

Read more