I am attending the AIPLA annual meeting in Washington, D.C. I just gave a talk on the GreenTech pilot program. A powerpoint of the presentation is attached here: GreenTech Accel Matt Prater
GreenTech Pilot Program
October 22nd, 2010Toyota Hybrid Technology – Selling Components or Licensing Patents?
September 16th, 2010Daimler is in talks with Toyota to buy hybrid components from Toyota. See this Edmund’s article.
One angle the media often overlooks is that a benefit to buying Toyota’s technology, versus developing your own, is that Toyota’s technology comes with an implied warranty against patent infringement. Toyota’s patent position in hybrid technology is huge, whereas Daimler’s is quite small. For example, a search of Google Patents for the term “hybrid” with “Daimler” in the assignee field nets 23 hits. Switch Daimler to Toyota, and you have 137 hits. This is a real blunt instrument to gauge patent positions, but it does show that Toyota is bigger – probably much bigger.
It all begs the question – is Daimler buying parts, or are they buying licenses that come with free parts?
Toyota loses request to toss out ITC case involving hybrid
June 25th, 2010Paice LLC, a small entity that appears to be non-practicing, has been in a number of patent battles with Toyota. On June 24, the ITC denied Toyota’s request to toss out Paice’s ITC case.
IP360 covers the matter more thoroughly: http://ip.law360.com/articles/177090
The United States International Trade Commission (“ITC”) has lately become a popular tool to resolve patent disputes involving the import of goods into the United States. Parties use the ITC because it often reaches findings faster than a district court would, and features a somewhat compressed discovery process that can cut down on litigation costs.