Tesla offers up patents
2014-06-12 22:05:29.269794+00 by
Dan Lyke
2 comments
Huh: Tesla Motors: All Our Patent Are Belong To You:
Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport. If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but then lay intellectual property landmines behind us to inhibit others, we are acting in a manner contrary to that goal. Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.
Some question about what "in good faith" means, my take is that it's an attempt to do a massive cross-licensing deal all at once. Interesting.
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#Comment Re: made: 2014-06-13 10:52:48.52087+00 by:
Larry Burton
[edit history]
Exactly! It sounds to me like Tesla is expecting tit for tat. What I heard was,
"I have no intentions of suing you for patent infringement unless, of course,
you sue me for patent infringement."
#Comment Re: made: 2014-06-13 16:04:38.285621+00 by:
Jack William Bell
[edit history]
Larry;
That's pretty much my read of the situation. Basically it's the same thing all big companies do and the reason they acquire all of those patents in the first place. In most cases the patent portfolios are there for defensive, not offensive, purposes because everyone is violating one patent or another in the modern reality of stupid patent laws and a broken patent review system.
The difference here is Tesla is both serving public notice (because it is a new business domain) and getting themselves some free positive publicity in the process.