Vsesoyuznoe Ob'edinenie “Licensintorg” was established by the decision of the Government issued on July 4, 1962 as a foreign trade organisation for international technology exchange with foreign countries on a commercial basis. 

Licensintorg entered the World market with Russian technologies developed in scientific institutes practically for all branches of national economy.

Until 1991 Licensintorg operated as authorized customer of governmental investments into national economy with assistance of foreign suppliers, and also, as an authorized supplier of national industrial property rights. 

Licensintorg covered about 75% of imports of foreign licenses to modernize national plants and factories dealing with defence and consumer products.

VO “Licensintorg” was transformed into Vsesoyuznoe Hozraschetnoe Vneshnetorgovoe Ob'edinenie (All Union Self-financing Foreign Trade Enterprise). Licensintorg exported the industrial property rights for more than 1,6 billion US dollars and took up a worthy place in the World technology exchange. 

Licensintorg sold to foreign buyers, together with high-tech licenses, such licenses as technology to manufacture Champaign (France), Kvas (Germany), Kefir (Japan), and Black bread (Finland).

During that period Licensintorg took initiative in development of long-term production cooperation with companies of industrialized countries. That was a prototype of joint ventures incorporated to manufacture goods (mobile concrete-mills, concrete pumps, concrete-mixers), household goods (kitchen combines, coffee mills, hair driers, photoflashes, etc.).

The Government commissioned Licensintorg to represent interests of the whole national astronautics industry in order to sell abroad satellite services, and a specialized division was created to render such services.

irst commercial experiments on board of satellites and astronaut stations were accomplished, and first British, French, German, Japanese and Austrian astronauts were launched in accordance with contracts signed of Licensintorg.

In accordance with the order of the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Russian Federation on November 30, 1992 Licensintorg was reorganised into “Gosudarstvennoe predpriyatie Vneshneekono-micheskoe Ob'edinenie “Lizensintorg” (Foreign Economic Organisation State Enterprise “Licensintorg” ).

Enterprises in USA, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China and other countries are using technologies in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemistry and petrochemistry, fertilizer production, electric welding, food industry, etc., sold by Licensintorg .

At present besides its traditional activity (trade with licences for new technologies) Licensintorg is actively engaged in export and import of a wide group of commodities and acquired a status of an UNO official supplier.

Licensintorg has taken up an important place in innovation activities, i.e. assistance in choosing partners for arranging manufacture and sales of different goods with application of national inventions, evaluation of intellectual property, and consulting.

Among Russian partners there are such, as scientific institutes of Russian Academy of Science, Federal Agency “ROSGIDROMET”, TSNIKM “Prometei” (Saint Petersburg), PO “Uralvagonzavod” (Nizhni Tagil), “Tsentr Keldysha” (Moscow), ZAO NTTS “Modul” (Moscow), OAO “GIAP” (Moscow), OAO “NII Plastmass” (Moscow), GNIIKHTEOS (Moscow), “Russian innovation consortium”, OAO “Membrany” (Vladimir) and many others.

Among foreign companies there are such companies as “FERROSTAAL”, “LINDE”, “SIEMENS”, “BOSH”, “KUKA”, “MANN-GHH”, “MANNESMANN”, “STETTER”, “FUJITSU”, (Germany); “GENERAL ELECTRIC”, “McDERMOTT”, “PHILIP MORRIS” (USA); “SAFT” and “TOMPSON-CSF” (France); “MERLONI PROGETTI”, AKME MOTORI, SNAMPROGETTI (Italy); “FISCHER”, “VOEST-ALPINE” (Austria); “PHILIPS” (Holland); “ABB”, “SANDVIK” (Sweden); “SULZER” and “INTERPLASTICA” (Switzerland); “NIPPON STEEL”, “KOBE STEEL”, “MITSUI”, “MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC”, “NISSHO IWAI”, “SINTO KOGIO”, “КAWASAKI STEEL” (Japan); “VALMET HOLMING”, “RAUMA-REPOLA” (Finland); “SAMSUNG”, “HYUNDAI”, “UNIMO” (Republic of Korea), “CHINA XINSHIDAI”, “JUHUA GROUP”, and “LIAONING TIAN HE FINE CHEMICALS” ( China ) and many other companies all around the World.

Licensintorg is the Russian participant of a Russian-French working group for industrial cooperation and of a subgroup concerning security and legal use of industrial property. It is a member of a joined Russian-French Committee for scientific and technological cooperation. It collaborates with the EC UNO in creation of a group for evaluation and commercial use of intellectual property.

icensintorg has such daughter companies, as “Technounion GmbH” ( Germany ), “Listech Oy” and “Koneisto Oy” ( Finland ), and “Litco PTY Co. Ltd.” ( India ).