Open innovation toolbox
Enterprise Estonias Open Innovation Toolbox is a collection of freely available, IP and technology transfer-related document bases and guidance materials for businesses to support the development of science and technology-intensive business in Estonia.
Before you start
Model documents and model contracts are only intended to serve as a basis and should certainly be adapted to suit each specific use case. Neither the EIS nor the partners involved in the preparation of the model documents shall be liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of the model documents. Please read the general conditions for the use of the model documents here. Unless otherwise indicated, all the works below are free to use based on Creative Commons Attribution (CC0) 4.0 licence.
In case of comments or questions, you are welcome to write to Jelizaveta Lazonen, who led the group that developed the toolbox, or to Siim Kinnas, technology transfer development manager at Enterprise Estonia.
protection of intangible assets
Intangible assets make up the largest part of the value of international business, which is why it is also extremely important for Estonian companies to map, protect and commercially exploit them.
In order to manage and protect commercially valuable intangible assets, they need to be identified beforehand using the tools below. See a more comprehensive summary of the resources available to help you manage your company’s intellectual assets here.
development commissions and cooperation
Before looking for or negotiating with a development partner, we recommend that you think carefully about what your company expects from the partnership.
We strongly recommend the use of the “Development collaboration self assessment questions“, for example, if a company is considering entering into a development cooperation with a university or other research or development institution. If the content or part of the envisaged project is a further development of an already existing object, we also recommend the use of the “List of background IP for the project”.
Handling sensitive information
When planning development cooperation, the parties should think through and agree who will share what commercially sensitive information and under what conditions, in order to avoid sensitive information leaks.
If only one party shares confidential information, a unilateral confidentiality agreement is appropriate. If confidential information is shared by both parties, a bilateral confidentiality agreement form should be chosen (forthcoming, in the meantime, as an example, one fromStartupEstonia can be used)
Deals with technologies
The model documents listed below are intended for transactions involving technologies and related intangible assets and their terms of use, such as registered or unregistered intellectual property, know-how, software, biological material or data.
A ‘Work handover-acceptance certificate’ may be used to transfer the right of use from an employee or contractor to a contractor. We recommend licence or assignment agreements for use right transactions between companies.
When agreeing on the rights of use of technologies and related intangible assets, the parties should consider the legitimate business interests and expectations of each party and reach a mutually satisfactory compromise that will allow for the creation of the greatest value from the asset.
Deals with creative works
As a rule, works are protected by copyright, but they can also become the subject of industrial property rights, such as trademarks or industrial designs. Contracts must be in a form that can be reproduced in writing in order to agree on these rights of use or to carry out transactions.
A “Work handover-acceptance certificate” may be used to transfer the right of use from the worker or contractor to the contractor. For transactions between companies concerning rights of use, we recommend licence or assignment agreements.
Renewing your IP knowledge
In order to strategically use intellectual property in business, the main types of intellectual property and intangible assets and their characteristics should be known. To this end, we have put together here a collection of learning and information materials on key topics for quick reference and overview. For more and more detailed information, please consult the following resources here.
What do you want to do?
Model documents and model contracts are only intended to serve as a basis and should certainly be adapted to suit each specific use case. Neither the EIS nor the partners involved in the preparation of the model documents shall be liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of the model documents. Please read the general conditions for the use of the model documents here. Unless otherwise indicated, all the works below are free to use based on Creative Commons Attribution (CC0) 4.0 licence.
In case of comments or questions, you are welcome to write to Jelizaveta Lazonen, who led the group that developed the toolbox, or to Siim Kinnas, technology transfer development manager at Enterprise Estonia.
Intangible assets make up the largest part of the value of international business, which is why it is also extremely important for Estonian companies to map, protect and commercially exploit them.
In order to manage and protect commercially valuable intangible assets, they need to be identified beforehand using the tools below. See a more comprehensive summary of the resources available to help you manage your company’s intellectual assets here.
Before looking for or negotiating with a development partner, we recommend that you think carefully about what your company expects from the partnership.
We strongly recommend the use of the “Development collaboration self assessment questions“, for example, if a company is considering entering into a development cooperation with a university or other research or development institution. If the content or part of the envisaged project is a further development of an already existing object, we also recommend the use of the “List of background IP for the project”.
When planning development cooperation, the parties should think through and agree who will share what commercially sensitive information and under what conditions, in order to avoid sensitive information leaks.
If only one party shares confidential information, a unilateral confidentiality agreement is appropriate. If confidential information is shared by both parties, a bilateral confidentiality agreement form should be chosen (forthcoming, in the meantime, as an example, one fromStartupEstonia can be used)
The model documents listed below are intended for transactions involving technologies and related intangible assets and their terms of use, such as registered or unregistered intellectual property, know-how, software, biological material or data.
A ‘Work handover-acceptance certificate’ may be used to transfer the right of use from an employee or contractor to a contractor. We recommend licence or assignment agreements for use right transactions between companies.
When agreeing on the rights of use of technologies and related intangible assets, the parties should consider the legitimate business interests and expectations of each party and reach a mutually satisfactory compromise that will allow for the creation of the greatest value from the asset.
As a rule, works are protected by copyright, but they can also become the subject of industrial property rights, such as trademarks or industrial designs. Contracts must be in a form that can be reproduced in writing in order to agree on these rights of use or to carry out transactions.
A “Work handover-acceptance certificate” may be used to transfer the right of use from the worker or contractor to the contractor. For transactions between companies concerning rights of use, we recommend licence or assignment agreements.
In order to strategically use intellectual property in business, the main types of intellectual property and intangible assets and their characteristics should be known. To this end, we have put together here a collection of learning and information materials on key topics for quick reference and overview. For more and more detailed information, please consult the following resources here.