Diverging Approaches to Intellectual Property and a Reform Proposal Prompted by AI.

This article examines the historic and ongoing divergence between two juris-political approaches to intellectual property (IP) law: a "protectionist" trend that expands exclusive rights to maximize private interests, and a "reductionist" trend that seeks to balance IP protection with competition and social access to culture. It highlights how European Union legislation exemplifies protectionist tendencies rooted in traditional industrial models emphasizing fixed investments and monopolistic exploitation, while also tracing the rise of reductionist approaches favoring innovation-sharing, open standards, and cooperative business models, especially in the digital and network economy. The article discusses the Essential Facilities doctrine as a legal mechanism shifting IP from absolute property rights toward liability-based access, and argues for a new IP paradigm adapted to the digital age and artificial intelligence (AI), proposing a model of open, fair-compensated access to data and AI-generated outputs inspired by historic Italian copyright law. It critically addresses challenges posed by current IP regimes to AI development, particularly regarding data use and copyright exceptions, and calls for systemic reform to reconcile creators’ rights with technological and societal needs.