GreenXchange: The Sustainability of a Green Patent Commons

For anybody who has not yet heard about the latest in sustainability technology-sharing, I urge you to read Marcia Stepanek's blog post on the GreenXchange. Marcia does a nice job summarizing the idea of the GreenXchange but also poses an interesting question: "Is it possible -- and/or desireable -- for companies to team up in this way for the common good?"

Here's the basic idea behind the GreenXchange. Companies with patents join forces via a website which allows users to find out about new technologies they can purchase. While Nike gets the credit for initiating the idea, the range of players drawn into the development of this "patent commons" is extensive. Several organizations--- among them creative commons, salesforce.com, 2degrees, nGenera, and Yahoo! --- collaborate to support different aspects of the platform (BTW, you know you've stumbled on something hip when all company names listed either begin with lower-case letters or end with exclamation points!)

The GreenXchange website's value proposition is that it "brings together companies, people, and ideas to create sustainable change that affects us all." I was so excited by this idea that I visited the website and clicked "join now". "Thank you! Your interest has been recorded," said the screen. Apparently, the GreenXchange is not accepting new members. I should have known better. After all, "GX" was JUST announced at Davos.

I don't get discouraged easily, so I picked up the phone and called a bunch of people on a CSRWire press release to find out what I could about how the website will function. I offer a special thanks to Daylan Burlison from salesforce.com, who not only answered his phone but was kind enough to spend a few minutes answering some of my initial questions. Basically, the project was driven by Nike, operates on salesforce's platform, and offers mechanisms for collaboration through nGenera and 2degrees, ultimately allowing parties interested in taking advantage of a patent to do so via a license developed by creative commons (Daylan and others, please correct or expand on any critical elements I have missed here).

So what is the answer to Marcia Stepanek's sustainability question about whether it is "possible" for companies to "team up" for the common good? In order to answer her question, we still need a few more details. The real question we should all be asking is how the financial model behind the GreenXchange will function. Who will be allowed to use the site? How will licenses be structured? In what ways will money change hands through (or outside of) the website? If you are one of the privileged few who has been able to access the site, please chime in and let us know about your experience with it.