European IP Helpdesk : impact licensing : enhancing licensing practices to bolster societal value creation

The challenges we face as societies are manifold - from climate change to energy shortages or unequal access to medicines. To address these on a global scale, novel approaches are needed to ensure the potential of intellectual assets and technologies is fully exploited. Impact licensing, as an innovative licensing practice aimed at enhancing the reuse of intellectual assets for the benefit of society, is a beneficial strategic instrument to bring technologies into societal markets in a scalable and sustainable way. While different (voluntary) impact licensing models exist, this infographic spotlights key features and components of the concept developed by the non-profit Impact Licensing Initiative (ILI). What does Impact Licensing mean? Impact licensing can be defined as a strategic tool for maximising the societal valorisation potential of technologies and data without losing sight of the economic aspect and the goal of generating a return on investment. It entails the voluntary granting of a time-limited permission by a technology holder to introduce a technology and/or data intentionally, measurably, and in an enhanced manner to a predefined market for a specific societal purpose. Impact Licensing can be used for licensing any sort of intellectual property, such as patented technologies, trade secrets (methods, processes, datasets...), trademarks, copyrights, or big data.