By Tommaso Mancini – Head of International Commercial Law and Federico Alessandri – Of Counsel Tech & Law
From 12 September 2025, the Data Act (EU Regulation 2023/2854) grants users of connected products the right to obtain the data generated by those products and the right to have such data made available to a third party of their choice.
Connected products placed on the market after 12 September 2026 must also be designed so that such data is accessible to the user by default. Access must be easy, free of charge, complete and in a machine-readable format.
Download the guide in italian
What changes in practice
Customers can obtain the machine data free of charge and ask for it to be transmitted to an independent service centre, a maintenance company or a consultant.
The Data Act prohibits the use of such data to develop a competing connected product, but not to provide services: maintenance, repair and after-sales services remain open to competitors.
The risk to company margins
For many businesses, after-sales services are a profitable part of the customer relationship. If the data supporting those services reaches a competitor, those margins are at risk.
There is also a second aspect: a manufacturer holding non-personal data generated by the machine may use it for its own purposes, for example for analytics, predictive maintenance or product development, only on the basis of a contract with the user. This rule also applies to machines already sold.
Know-how must be protected from the outset
Data may reveal process parameters, technical solutions and production methods.
The Data Act allows companies to protect their trade secrets on one condition: they must identify them in advance and contractually agree with the customer or third party on the measures required to preserve their confidentiality.
Without this preparatory work, both technical and legal, the conditions for blocking, suspending or refusing data sharing are not met.
Who is affected
Manufacturers of machinery and connected products, including SMEs: micro and small enterprises are exempt under certain conditions, while medium-sized enterprises benefit from an exemption only for a limited period.
Anyone selling, renting or leasing a connected product must in any event provide the customer, before the contract is concluded, with information on the data generated. Even for exempt companies, it is foreseeable that access to data will become a standard customer request and therefore a competitive factor.
The guide
We have prepared a short practical guide covering the applicable obligations, exemptions, protection of know-how and contracts requiring adjustment.
Download the guide in italian
To assess your company’s position, contact us: segreteria@bacciardipartners.it