The subject of future scenarios for intellectual property deals with the questions of what challenges the protection of intellectual property will have to face in the future and what the possible solutions could be.

• First, this includes studies that specifically create various future scenarios for intellectual property, such as:

• Scenarios for the future by the European Patent Office (EPO)
• Bioeconomy to 2030 (PDF) by the Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)

• Second, there are also general futurology studies that refer to intellectual property such as Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World by the US National Intelligence Council.
• Also falling under this topic are studies concerning developments within the limits of intellectual property. Key words here include open innovation, open access, open source, patent pools and access to knowledge.

• Finally, studies and projects where intellectual property meets sustainable development also come under the heading of future scenarios. These include dealing with the environmental and developmental dimensions of intellectual property, such as the connection between clean technology, patents and technology transfer:

• UNEP-EPO-ICTSD Joint Study on Patents and Environmentally Sound Technologies
• UNCTAD-ICTSD Capacity Building Project on IPRs
• UNCTAD: Development Dimensions of Intellectual Property Rights