Open Innovation – a trust-building setting from legal considerations to the incorporation of ethical and sustainability criteria

By Reik Leiterer, Booster Manager

In open innovation, creating a safe space to share knowledge and ideas is vital for successful co-creation. This entails establishing a legal framework for open innovation by creating policies and guidelines that foster collaboration, protect intellectual property (IP) rights, ensure fair use, and maintain compliance with relevant laws. The following video explains how to enable a trust-building setting with rules of participation for an open innovation program and for collaborating teams.

How to set a legal framework for open innovation? (Video)

In the frame of Intellectual Property Management, create and/or follow guidelines on the ownership and sharing of IP created through open innovation, including e.g. joint ownership, licensing agreements, or IP transfer policies. Create understanding on how patents and trademarks will be handled, including the set-up of agreements on filing and maintaining IP protection. If necessary, use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to protect sensitive information shared during collaboration.

With regard to compliance with laws and regulations, be aware of data protection laws (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) when handling personal or sensitive data, comply with export control regulations that may affect the sharing of technology or information across borders, and avoid anti-competitive practices by ensuring that collaboration does not lead to market monopolization or unfair trade practices. May be consider using Creative Commons and open source licenses  (e.g., MIT, GPL) to facilitate and ensure legal sharing, contribution and reuse of creative works. 

We always recommend establishing ethical guidelines to ensure that innovations are developed and used responsibly. In addition, the incorporation of sustainability criteria into the innovation process could be something to think about to promote environmentally and socially responsible practices.