Italy has become the first EU country to pass sweeping new legislation aimed at regulating the use of AI with Law No. 1146-B/2025. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the Italian government has introduced a law that comprehensively touch upon a wide range of sectors, including transparency requirements, workplace oversight, child protection, ethical use in public sectors like healthcare and education, and the prevention of AI-driven harm such as deepfakes and fraud.
In parallel with these regulatory efforts, the law addresses growing concerns around intellectual property in the age of AI—an area that has become increasingly contentious as AI-generated content blurs the lines between human creativity and machine output. As AI influence of IP has become a hot discourse, Italy’s new law could possibly become the blueprint or other nations to follow.
Below are the few key points related to IP that we have summarized
Human Creativity and Copyright
The new law takes a clear stance on human contribution and authorship. Article 25 stipulates that copyright protection applies only when there is meaningful human intellectual effort behind the creation. This means purely AI-generated works—those created without significant human input—do not qualify for copyright. This article preserves the principle that human creativity remains central to copyright even as AI becomes an increasingly sophisticated tool in the creative process.
Clarifying the Use of Copyrighted Works in AI Training (Articles 70-ter, 70-quater, and 171(a-ter))
One of the most contentious issues in AI regulation worldwide is the use of copyrighted content to train AI models. AI models often use copyrighted content, often without authorization, as a database to draw upon. Law No. 1146-B/2025 directly tackles this by amending the Italian Copyright Law to introduce:
- Article 70-ter, which permits text and data mining activities only for scientific research purposes or with explicit authorization—limiting widespread unauthorized use of protected works.
- Article 70-quater, allowing the reproduction and extraction of materials solely for scientific research, provided such use doesn’t interfere with normal exploitation or cause harm to rights holders.
- A new criminal offense under Article 171(a-ter) penalizes unauthorized automated extraction or reproduction of copyrighted works that violate the above provisions.
Criminal Penalties for Malicious AI Misuse (Article 612-quater)
Amendments to Article 612-quater criminalizes the creation and distribution of AI-generated or manipulated content (such as malicious deepfakes) that causes unjust harm—including infringement of intellectual property rights, with penalties ranging from 1 to 5 years imprisonment. This is a similar to a move made by Denmark that we have covered in a previous article.
Italy’s new AI law comes as the EU AI Act being finalized for implementation. While the EU Act sets a general framework focused on risk and safety, Italy’s new law addresses specific national concerns, particularly around intellectual property. By moving ahead with detailed, enforceable provisions, Italy positions itself as a frontrunner in translating EU principles into actionable national policy which could potentially influence how other member nations tackle their own AI legislation.
Conclusion
For rights holders and creators of Italy, this law reinforces that their works remain protected and cannot be freely exploited for AI training without authorization. For AI developers and companies, it outlines clear boundaries to follow, especially regarding data sourcing and liability. As Italy leads the way in the EU for wide sweeping AI regulations, copyright owners must watch closely for implementing regulations that will detail compliance requirements and enforcement practices. Indonesia, with its upcoming new copyright law, may take notes from Italy’s developments
Should you have further questions on this matter or any other IP related inquiry, our highly experienced team is ready to guide you through any issue you might have. Contact us now at ambadar@ambadar.co.id
Sources:
Disegno di legge | Senato della Repubblica
