Open IP strategies for enabling sustainability transitions

As global societies are evolving to knowledge economies, intellectual property (IP) is becoming increasingly important. Contemporaneously, firms are opening up their innovation processes in contrast to the internally focused closed innovation paradigm, making IP of substantial relevance for firms as well as for societies. However, in spite of this relevance, existing literature about Open IP approaches is scarce, and most existing investigations are focusing on the software industry. This paper links Open IP to social and environmental issues, and particularly discusses IP strategies against the backdrop of sustainability transitions. The challenges for innovative, small companies to compete with incumbents and their role to contribute to sustainability transitions are demonstrated and suggestions for promising future research are presented