Sharing knowledge and technology that protect the environment is one way to address a wide range of challenges and threats to our planet. One vital way to share such knowledge and technology is through making patented technology available. Yet, to date, there has been no organized effort to make patents available, without royalty, to help enable the world community to reduce waste, pollution, global warming and energy demands.

The Commons concept recognizes that some patents that provide environmental benefit may represent the jewels of a company's kingdom. Asking an enterprise or University to relinquish such key assets is not the objective of the Commons.

However, leading businesses and Universities may hold some patents that provide environmental benefit and do not represent an essential source of business advantage for them. Though these patents may provide nominal license or exclusivity potential for companies, they may provide greater value in a public commons.

As has been demonstrated by the open source software community, the free sharing of knowledge can provide a fertile ground for new collaboration and innovation. Sharing environmental patents can help others become more eco-efficient and operate in a more environmentally sustainable manner — enabling technology innovation to meet social innovation.

The Eco-Patent Commons provides a unique leadership opportunity for global business to make a difference - sharing their innovations in support of sustainable development.

How the Eco-Patent Commons works

The Commons is open to all—with global participation by businesses in diverse industry sectors, Universities, research centers, etc. It contains initial and subsequent patent pledges by companies that become members of the Commons. The patents are displayed on a searchable website hosted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

The number of patents each business wishes to pledge to the Commons is left to its discretion. Many businesses do not routinely patent innovations that benefit the environment, so some participants will have only a small number of patents to pledge. Contributing even one patent is sufficient for participation and can make a significant difference in helping to further sustainable development.

The patents been pledged should provide “environmental benefits”, which may be a direct or indirect purpose of the patents. Some examples of environmental benefits are e nergy conservation or efficiency, pollution prevention (source reduction, waste reduction), use of environmentally preferable materials or substances, materials reduction and increased recyclability

Benefits of the Eco-Patent Commons

The Eco-Patent Commons provides businesses with a global recognition of their leadership in contributing to sustainable development :

• It is an efficient channel through which businesses can share their innovations and acts as a catalyst for further innovation that can facilitate potential new opportunities for business collaboration.
  
  
• It can help introduce and share the pledger's technology and vision of the future to the industry and businesses in the industry.
  
  
• The main difference with dedicating patents to the public is that the Commons allows the pledger to terminate the patent to those who assert patents against the pledger.
  
  
• With respect to defensive termination, one pledger may assert patents, outside the field of the Commons, against another pledger without losing rights inside the Commons.

The Eco-Patent Commons provides benefits for patent users and our planet:

• It provides free access to patents that can be leveraged by others to improve the environmental aspects of their operations.
  
  
• The information is readily available in one easily accessible place.
  
  
• The Commons provides an avenue by which those who are facing a challenge that may have an environmental impact can connect with those who already have had success in meeting that challenge.

* Please note that the Original ground rules were updated in March 2009