Researching the patent race between Toyota and everybody else, the Wall Street Journal reports….

Toyota Builds Thicket of Patents Around Hybrid To Block Competitors – WSJ.com: “‘Toyota’s patent-filing strategy has made it far too risky to copy the Prius without Toyota’s blessing,’ said Justin Blows, a patent attorney with Griffith Hack Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys in Australia.

In a recent study of intellectual property for hybrid vehicles, Mr. Blows found that Toyota has about 2,100 patents, nearly double that of its closest rival, Honda Motor Co. It is a fact that Toyota hasn’t been shy about promoting, as it did in its launch of the new Prius at the Detroit auto show in January.”

In our own review of specific technologies, Toyota is doing okay, but they’re not blowing everyone away.

For example, our study of battery temperature control listed Honda as #1, with Toyota weighing in at #6. Of course, one of the interlopers between #1 and #6 is Matsushita, which Toyota has been known to partner with.

In our study of motor control patents, Toyota indeed weighs in at #1, with Honda and Nissan following suit.

Toyota is massive and well run, but innovation is occurring at all of the competitors, and each seems to understand the importance of protection. For example, in the battery temperature control category, Ford is #2, and GM is #3. Strong showings from Detroit. In motor control patents, Ford is #4, and GM is #9.

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