Technology is an integral part of companies’ production, commercial and organisational processes. Software, platforms, cloud services, network infrastructure, payment systems, applications and digital content are no longer merely supporting tools: they directly affect operational continuity, relationships with customers and suppliers, ownership of assets and the ability to develop new products and business models.
The development or acquisition of a technology solution requires decisions that cannot be left solely to technical specifications or the supplier’s standard terms. The required services, acceptance criteria, service levels, rights in software and data, liability for delays and malfunctions, maintenance and update arrangements, and exit conditions must all be defined precisely.
Attorney Alessandro del Ninno advises companies, corporate groups, technology operators, digital service providers, platforms and public-sector bodies on the design, negotiation and management of initiatives in the fields of Information Technology and electronic communications.
The practice integrates civil and commercial law with the Italian Digital Administration Code, the eIDAS framework on electronic identification and trust services, e-commerce legislation, the Digital Services Act, the Italian Electronic Communications Code, the Data Act, consumer law, payment services regulation, intellectual property, data protection, cybersecurity, digital accessibility and applicable sector-specific rules.
The objective is to translate technological architectures, specifications and business models into clear contractual and organisational arrangements, protecting corporate investments and preventing technological dependencies, uncertainty over asset ownership, uncontrolled costs and disputes with suppliers, customers, partners and competent authorities.
Assistance may begin at the earliest stages of a project, when the operating model, solution architecture, parties involved, commercialisation arrangements and dependencies on third-party infrastructure or components are being defined.
Attorney Alessandro del Ninno works alongside Legal, IT, Procurement, Compliance, Cybersecurity and business functions to classify the service, identify the applicable regulatory framework and allocate responsibilities among customers, suppliers, developers, systems integrators, licensors, distributors and subcontractors.
The service includes reviewing specifications, requests for proposals, functional requirements, technical documentation and tender documents, ensuring that technological requirements and contractual terms are consistent and that the obligations undertaken can be objectively verified.
Particular attention is paid to milestones, testing and acceptance criteria, integration with legacy systems, dependencies on external services, change management and the conditions required to support the future development of the solution.
Project governance, change-control, escalation and reporting procedures are also established so that variations, delays, additional requests and disagreements over specifications are governed by a documented process. In more complex projects, the assistance covers the entire project lifecycle: partner selection, development, testing, deployment, maintenance, updating, replacement and decommissioning.
A central part of the practice concerns the drafting and negotiation of technology contracts.
Attorney Alessandro del Ninno advises on software development, licensing, distribution, maintenance, support, systems integration, technology transfer, hosting, colocation, cloud computing, Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service, application management, outsourcing, facilities management, disaster recovery, backup and IT consultancy agreements.
Each contract is structured around the actual features of the service. It addresses the scope of the services, specifications, delivery dates, acceptance criteria, service levels, ticket management, corrective and evolutionary maintenance, updates, business continuity, vulnerability management and cooperation obligations.
Particular attention is paid to ownership of software, source code, customisations, interfaces, documentation, databases, models, algorithms and other project deliverables. The parties’ pre-existing assets, components developed on commission, tools reusable by the supplier and results to be assigned or licensed to the customer are clearly distinguished.
The practice also covers the review of open-source components, the applicable licences and any attribution, distribution or source-code disclosure obligations. For critical projects, source-code deposit arrangements, software escrow, step-in rights, continuity measures and knowledge-transfer obligations may be established for cases of insolvency, business discontinuance or material breach by the supplier.
Cloud and outsourcing agreements are reviewed with regard to subcontracting chains, infrastructure locations, portability, interoperability, data return and exit strategies. The Data Act is incorporated into the negotiation of switching procedures between data-processing service providers and measures intended to prevent vendor lock-in.
The contractual allocation of liability is also assessed in light of the new European product liability framework, which expressly brings software and digital components within its scope and must be transposed by the Member States by December 2026. The assistance enables companies to anticipate its implications for development, updates, product control, technical documentation, warranties and claims management.
Attorney Alessandro del Ninno advises companies, trust service providers, technology suppliers and public-sector bodies on the legal design and validation of electronic document processes and transactions.
The service covers the selection and proper use of electronic signatures, electronic seals, electronic time stamps, electronic registered delivery services and electronic identification and authentication tools. The evidential value of the process, the identification of the signatory, document integrity, traceability of transactions and retention of supporting evidence are all assessed.
Assistance includes the design of remote-signing workflows, onboarding procedures, electronic powers of attorney, internal approval processes and systems for creating, managing and preserving electronic documents in accordance with the Italian Digital Administration Code and the guidelines issued by the Agency for Digital Italy.
The eIDAS framework, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/1183, is applied with due regard to the European Digital Identity Wallet ecosystem, electronic attestations of attributes and the new trust services. The practice covers the integration of European Digital Identity Wallets into public and private services, the legal qualification of relying parties, the selection of attributes requested from users and compliance with the relevant implementing regulations and the European Architecture and Reference Framework.
The practice supports the design and operation of B2B and B2C e-commerce activities, marketplaces, subscription services, booking platforms, online auctions and business models involving the sale of digital content, digital services and goods with digital elements.
The work includes assessing the administrative requirements applicable to the launch of the service, including filings with the competent one-stop shop for productive activities where required, and drafting terms and conditions, pre-contractual information and online contracting processes.
In consumer relationships, the relevant provisions address pricing, payment methods, withdrawal rights, contractual performance, renewal, termination, complaints, guarantees and remedies. For digital content, digital services and goods with digital elements, assistance also covers conformity requirements, updates, functionality, compatibility, interoperability and remedies in cases of non-supply or defective supply.
Purchasing processes are also reviewed from an interface and user-experience perspective, including buttons, options, consent mechanisms, cancellation procedures, trial periods and automatic renewals. The objective is to prevent dark patterns, unfair commercial practices and mechanisms capable of improperly influencing users’ decisions.
The service also covers the authenticity of consumer reviews, price-reduction announcements, ranking of search results, personalised pricing, loyalty programmes, sponsorships, digital advertising, endorsements and campaigns conducted through social media and influencers.
Attorney Alessandro del Ninno advises access, caching and hosting providers, online marketplaces, platforms, search engines, content-sharing services and other digital intermediaries on the legal classification of their services and the identification of the applicable obligations.
The Digital Services Act establishes different regimes depending on the nature of the service, the role performed, the size of the undertaking and any designation as a very large online platform or very large online search engine. The assistance therefore avoids the indiscriminate application of inapplicable requirements and develops a compliance model based on the actual configuration of the service.
The service may include reviewing terms and conditions, content-moderation procedures, notice-and-action mechanisms, internal complaint-handling systems, statements of reasons for removal or suspension decisions, and procedures for responding to orders issued by competent authorities.
For online marketplaces, the work covers the traceability of traders, information concerning sellers and products, interface design and coordination with consumer-protection and product-safety legislation.
Assistance also includes dealings with the Italian Communications Authority, AGCOM, in its capacity as Italy’s Digital Services Coordinator, as well as the handling of information requests, supervisory activities and proceedings under the Digital Services Act.
In relationships between platforms and business users, the obligations under the Platform-to-Business Regulation concerning contractual terms, ranking, data access, restrictions, suspensions and internal complaint-handling systems are also assessed for as long as they remain applicable. Regulatory developments are monitored in light of the Digital Omnibus proposal, which provides for the repeal of the Platform-to-Business Regulation but, as of July 2026, remains subject to the European legislative process. Where operators designated as gatekeepers are involved, the implications of the Digital Markets Act are also considered.
The practice covers activities carried out by operators of electronic communications networks and services, connectivity providers, infrastructure operators, aggregators and companies developing or using public or private networks.
Attorney Alessandro del Ninno advises on general authorisations, registration and notification obligations, the conditions governing the provision of services and the rules applicable to numbering, spectrum, access, interconnection and user protection.
Contracts with customers, operators, infrastructure owners, wholesale providers and technology partners are drafted and reviewed. The service covers commercial terms, quality levels, duration, renewal, migration, termination, compensation, service continuity and complaint management.
For infrastructure projects, assistance includes agreements for the installation, access to and sharing of networks, facilities and physical infrastructure, the coordination of civil works and the management of permitting procedures.
The Gigabit Infrastructure Act is applied to projects for the deployment of very high-capacity networks, with particular regard to access to physical infrastructure, coordination of civil works, information transparency, permit-granting procedures and in-building physical infrastructure.
Particular attention is paid to the transparency of commercial offers, activation and deactivation procedures, marketing communications and dealings with AGCOM and the Regional Communications Committees.
Attorney Alessandro del Ninno advises companies, technology operators, payment service providers, platforms and businesses that integrate payment functionalities into their digital services.
The work includes assessing the regulatory perimeter of the business model, distinguishing purely technical services from regulated activities, and defining the relationships among merchants, payment service providers, electronic money institutions, acquirers, payment gateways, fraud-prevention providers and other participants in the payment chain.
Contracts and processes are reviewed with regard to strong customer authentication, unauthorised transactions, refunds, fraud, chargebacks, payment initiation services, account information services and the allocation of liability among the relevant operators.
The practice also covers internet banking, online trading, distance marketing of financial services, digital onboarding and the integration of embedded-finance functionalities, coordinating payment-services rules with banking, financial-services, anti-money laundering, data-protection and operational-resilience requirements.
The applicable framework continues to be based on PSD2 and the relevant Italian implementing legislation. The service also includes monitoring and preparing for the future PSD3 and Payment Services Regulation framework, on which a provisional political agreement was reached in November 2025 but which had not yet been formally adopted as of July 2026, with particular attention to fraud prevention, open banking, transparency and operator liability.
Attorney Alessandro del Ninno advises public authorities, publicly controlled entities and private-sector suppliers on the design, procurement and management of digital services for public administrations.
The practice covers the application of the Italian Digital Administration Code, the creation and management of electronic documents, electronic records management, digital preservation, electronic identification, payments, electronic communications and the delivery of online public services.
Assistance includes drafting tender specifications and contracts for the procurement of ICT solutions, reviewing technical requirements, regulating testing and acceptance, data migration, business continuity, intellectual property, reuse conditions and supplier relationships under the Italian Public Procurement Code.
For cross-border services and shared infrastructure, account is taken of the Interoperable Europe Act and its requirements governing the interoperability of public-sector information systems and digital public services.
For cloud projects intended for public administrations, the service covers data and service classification, qualification requirements, migration arrangements and the measures established by the National Cybersecurity Agency’s regulation on digital infrastructure and cloud services for public administrations, which has operated under its ordinary regime since 1 August 2024.
The practice also covers the accessibility of websites, applications, e-commerce services, e-books, terminals and digital services. The applicable scope of Italian Law No. 4/2004 and Italian Legislative Decree No. 82/2022 is assessed at the outset, avoiding the automatic extension of obligations to products, content or services falling outside their respective scopes.
The service includes mapping the relevant services, assessing exclusions and transitional regimes, preparing accessibility statements and information, and documenting any assessments concerning disproportionate burden or fundamental alteration. Contracts address applicable standards, testing, supplier responsibility, updates and remediation activities.
The practice covers the distribution of content through websites, applications, platforms, streaming services, webcasting, podcasts, online channels and other forms of digital communication.
Attorney Alessandro del Ninno advises publishers, media service providers, platforms and technology operators on service classification, authorisation, registration and notification requirements, and relationships with authors, producers, performers, photographers, agencies, collective management organisations and technology providers.
Contracts regulate exploitation rights, territories, formats, duration, distribution, advertising, sponsorship, on-demand availability and promotional uses. The service also covers filings with AGCOM and registration with the Register of Communications Operators where applicable.
For publishers and media service providers, the relevant framework includes the Italian Consolidated Act on Audiovisual Media Services, copyright law, the Digital Services Act and the European Media Freedom Act. Assistance may cover ownership transparency, editorial independence, relationships with very large online platforms, audience measurement and corporate transactions in the media sector.
Attorney Alessandro del Ninno also advises concession holders, platform providers, developers and other participants in the technology supply chain for regulated remote gambling. The service covers the classification of roles, activities that may be outsourced to third parties, licence and service agreements, gaming platforms, player-account systems, top-ups, payments and technology integrations under Italian Legislative Decree No. 41/2024 and the measures issued by the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency.
A separate area concerns prize competitions, promotional prize schemes and other prize-based promotions, with advice on the structure of the initiative, official rules, eligibility requirements, prizes, marketing communications, ministerial filings and the role of the digital platforms used.
Attorney Alessandro del Ninno conducts legal audits of information systems, contracts, licences, suppliers and digital service-delivery models, assessing whether contractual and regulatory documentation reflects the actual operation of the relevant arrangements.
In acquisitions, investments, financing transactions and technology partnerships, due diligence may cover software assets, source code, open-source licences, customer and supplier agreements, cloud infrastructure, chains of title and technological dependencies.
The analysis identifies assets that have not been properly transferred, incompatible licences, restrictions on use, documentation deficiencies, continuity risks and remediation obligations to be addressed in transaction documents and integration plans.
The practice also covers the prevention and management of disputes relating to IT projects, software, platforms and infrastructure, including delays, non-delivery, defects, service unavailability, breach of service levels, data loss, integration failures, ownership of source code and unauthorised uses.
Assistance includes reconstructing the project and its technical documentation, managing claims and notices of breach, preparing formal demands and remediation plans, negotiating settlements and representing clients in court or arbitral proceedings.
In cases involving unauthorised access, malware, damage to systems, misappropriation of information or software piracy, the work is coordinated with forensic investigations, evidence preservation, interim measures, trade-secret protection and any necessary criminal proceedings.
The practice also includes dealings with the Agency for Digital Italy, the National Cybersecurity Agency, AGCOM, the Italian Competition Authority, the Italian Data Protection Authority, the Bank of Italy, CONSOB, the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency and any other competent authority depending on the service and sector concerned.
Advice may also be provided on an ongoing basis, supporting General Counsel, Legal, IT, Procurement, Compliance and product teams in assessing new projects, negotiating contracts and updating operating models.
The overall objective is to provide companies with a specialist legal function capable of understanding the underlying technology, translating it into legal obligations and contractual protections, and supporting the project from the initial design stage through operations, disputes or decommissioning.
