“Intellectual property (IP) for sustainability” is more than a catchphrase in today’s knowledge economy. IP as an instrument that incentivizes innovation can play an important role in diffusing or impeding sustainable technology. The ongoing pandemic combined with the urgent need to provide solutions for the green economy need not only a rich innovation landscape but also the right tools for accelerating technology diffusion. Accelerated diffusion may, inter alia, be an effect of business collaboration that facilitates knowledge sharing and technology transfer. In terms of IP, collaboration involves knowledge-sharing in different forms such as different form of licensing, patent commons, patent pools, etc.

The IPACST project studies different forms of IP collaboration that incentivize technology for sustainability transitions. Inspired from several interviews with companies, this Knowledge Brief series aims to provide basic information on different forms of IP agreements in business collaboration. In specific, it targets small business, startups, and individuals who have no IP expertise. We aim to fill this gap by providing basic IP education for small business. The current brief deals with licensing in general as an important tool for technology diffusion.

The Knowledge Brief series is available on the IPACST website: https://ip4sustainability.org/knowledge-briefs/

_{Disclaimer: the authors of the knowledge briefs bear the resposibility for the knowledge briefs’ content.}