The aim of this essay is to evaluate the extent to which the commercialization of sport in Liberal Italy was similar to what happened in other European countries. The essay discusses data gathered from the folders of patents stored in the Italian Central State Archive, it identifies the sectors in which more patents were registered, and assesses the impact of the import of American sport products in Italy in the 1920s. The reason why the article focuses on this period is that it coincided with the beginning of the Italian sport industry and the development of sport practices in the country.
Keywords: patent, sport, sport industry, liberal age