Massimo Sterpi is partner and Head of the IP/Technology and Art Law departments of Gianni & Origoni, one of leading Italian law firms. He has over 25 years of experience in all types of IP litigation and in complex IP transactions and leads a large group of IP specialist, with a special focus on new technologies. 

A passionate art collector, he has also gained an internationally recognized experience in art law.

Over the last years, he has been focusing on disrupting technologies, NTFs and Metaverse. In this respect, he has recently published an essay on “Art Disruption: Art and Technology in the Twenty-first Century” (2023), as well as another one on “Living in an Artwork: protection of design and architecture in the Metaverse” (2023).

Massimo has also been very active on AI related legal issues, such as copyrightability of contents generated through or by AI (including text, images and music), copyright protection of prompts, AI generated patents, AI generated code, training of AI algorithms. In 2019, he gave with Prof. David Nimmer a lecture on “Your Next Client may be an Algorithm” at the L.A. County Bar, as well as several presentations on the impact of AI on creation of artworks.

He is the author or has edited numerous publications on intellectual property, art law and art tech, including the three reference books on IP Litigation at international level, as well as the “Art Collecting Legal Handbook” (published by Thomson Reuters), which cover the laws on art in 30 different jurisdictions.

Massimo has been awarded the prize as Best Italian IP Lawyer by the leading magazine Top Legal in 2011 and Best Italian Art Lawyer in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

Massimo is on the WIPO Lists of Mediators and Referees in matters both in IP and Art and Cultural Heritage.

He has been Chairman of the IBA Committee for Art, Cultural Heritage and Cultural Institutions and is the current President of the UIA’s Art Law Committee.

He is contract Professor at the Master degrees on Fashion Law and Art Law of the LUISS University in Rome, as well as member of the Scientific Committee and a Professor at the Master degrees on Crypto Assets and De-Fi of the School of Management of the University of Turin.

Massimo is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and sits on the Board of Directors of the US Friends of the MAXXI Foundation.