This article assesses efforts to develop "open innovation". First, open innovation is put in the framework of knowledge society. It is shown that the term open innovation refers tu such different cases that it is better to assess them separately. Chesbrough´s "open innovation", the "lead user" conception, the idea of "commons-based-peer-production" and "interactive value production" is shortly explored. "Incertitude" is overviewed as basic background that urges societal praxis to turn to open innovation. At the end the article, referring to an expert material worked out for the EC DG Research, called with abbreviation TEKSS, turns interest to extending open innovation by integrating concerned groups as innovation partners as engagement, i.e. as partners though the whole innovation process., Imre Hronzsky, Ágnes Fésüs., and Obsahuje seznam literatury