Socially responsible licensing influences the way IP licensing agreements are drafted to make sure that societal interests are taken into account in commercial activities.
The concept of socially responsible licensing is known by an increasing number of European universities and RTOs. However, it is not yet widely implemented in practice, nor fully embedded in most organisations’ intellectual assets management strategies. This is one of the results of a consultation conducted by the European Commission in 2025 to explore how socially responsible licensing can be further promoted in the EU to boost the valorisation and impact of publicly funded research.
The consultation consisted in an open survey collecting insights on the level of awareness and implementation of socially responsible licensing. 44 European universities and RTOs across 22 countries replied. The survey’s findings were complemented by 8 deep-dive interviews with representatives of European academic institutions and Technology Transfer Offices.
Specifically, the survey sought to identify the most common licensing practices aiming to increase societal value adopted by publicly funded research organisations, identify the major challenges in their implementation, the R&I fields where socially responsible licensing could be most effectively promoted, and stakeholders’ needs for guidance and support on this topic.
High awareness, limited implementation
The survey revealed a high level of awareness of the socially responsible licensing concept, with almost nine out of ten respondents indicating familiarity with the term, and just above half of the surveyed professionals reporting their organisation having used socially responsible licensing practices. The most commonly implemented practices include monitoring and reporting clauses, royalty-free licenses, and due diligence requirements.
However, the great majority of organisations do not embed Socially responsible licensing in their intellectual assets strategies, with only one third of respondents having in place dedicated policies aiming at increasing societal benefits.
According to the respondents, health technologies, agriculture and food systems technologies, green technologies, and environmental sciences are the most suitable fields for the uptake of socially responsible licensing practices.
Reported challenges
The survey shed light on the most common challenges faced in the adoption of socially responsible licensing practices. Key obstacles include lack of awareness and capacity on socially responsible licensing at organisational level, diverging expectations of university and commercial partners and limited industry acceptance, and aligning societal impact goals with the need for financial sustainability.
Need for further guidance and support
According to five out of six survey respondents, more guidance on socially responsible licensing is needed. Most frequently requested means of support were guidelines, toolkits, model clauses and templates, and awareness-raising activities both in academia and industry, including on the benefits of socially responsible licensing.
Way forward
Socially responsible licensing can be an important tool for maximizing the societal value of research outputs. However, while awareness of socially responsible licensing is high among the sample of universities and RTOs that took part in the survey, stakeholders would benefit from further support and guidance to translate this awareness into actionable practices.
Background
In the last couple of decades, socially responsible licensing has emerged amongst some pioneering universities and research organisations as a mechanism to align their intellectual assets management strategies with societal needs, increasing access to innovation and helping them fulfil their “third mission”.
Socially responsible licensing is mentioned by the 2022 Council Recommendation Guiding Principles for Knowledge Valorisation as an example of how knowledge can be valorised by considering societal needs and benefits besides traditional profit drivers. The adoption of socially responsible licensing practices is also recommended by the 2023 Code of Practice on the management of intellectual assets.
More information
Article: Socially responsible licensing: a tool to increase societal value creation from R&I
Horizon Europe project: IMPAC3T IP - Improving outcomes and impact from scenario based licensing
Horizon Europe project: ILI - Impact Licensing Initiative