IP strategies for sustainability

Novel technologies are essential to enable environmental and societal sustainable growth. Intellectual property rights (IPR) provide incentives to technology development. But this positive effect on innovation comes with the downside that IPR can also hinder the diffusion of technology. Open approaches have been suggested to overcome this. However, in spite of this relevance, existing literature about Open IP approaches is scarce, and most investigations are focusing on the software industry. This paper discusses the benefits and drawbacks of different IP strategies against the backdrop of sustainability transition. The various modes of sharing IP are categorized according to their degree of openness in terms of access and contribution. Two case studies of companies that use a complete closed strategy and an open strategy are analysed and provide insights into various conditions that impact the suitability of an open or closed strategy and suggestions for promising future research are presented.