Our transition towards a more sustainable and resource-efficient bioeconomy has been urged by both researchers and policy makers. This project aims to transform our understanding of the impact of opening up IP models with bioeconomy related technologies.

The first part of the project focuses on exploring existing open IP models, their characteristics and firms’ willingness to adopt them. With the results, case studies are built to assess the impact of firms adopting these open IP models. After that, investigation will be conducted with regard to mechanisms and conditions of how open IP models can be best used to impact our transition towards a bioeconomy. Among all the bioeconomy related technologies, this project currently focuses on synthetic biology, particularly targeting on synthetic engineering of plant and microbial systems.

The project also aims to provide insight into i) the impact of changing business strategy ii) the impact of aligning the company’s IP strategy to the change in the overall business strategy iii) implications for the ability of businesses to adopt new synthetic biology tools and technologies and iv) identifying IP models that will play a role in successful business models for implementation of a sustainable bioeconomy.

This project is supported by UKRI, respectively the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Cambridge Trust, and is in collaboration with the Department of Plant Sciences and the OpenPlant Synthetic Biology Research Centre. It is also aligned with the Synthetic Biology Strategic Research Initiative of University of Cambridge.

Project lead: Aocheng Tang

Related Publications

Tang, A., Tietze, F., & Molloy, J. (2019) Openness in Intellectual Properties of Synthetic Biology Start-ups. IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society Conference, Atlanta, USA.

Tang, A., Tietze, F., & Molloy, J. (2018) Openness and Closedness of Company’s IP Strategies: an exploratory study on synthetic biology start-ups in the UK. R&D Management Conference, Milan, Italy.