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Patents given away? Elon Musk blazing a different sort of trail.
wraith808:
Tesla Just Gave All Its Patents Away to Competitors
While not as sensational as the title implies, he did just give the right to use patents used in building the Tesla to anyone who wants to use them.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced today that his company will not “initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.” In plain English, that means that if other car companies want to produce electric cars, they can use Tesla’s technology to do it, and, in turn, advance Musk’s sustainability vision.
“The mission of the company is to accelerate the widespread adoption of electric cars,” explained Tesla spokesperson Simon Sproule in an interview before the patent announcement was made. “If Tesla acts as the catalyst for other manufacturers … that will have been achieved.”
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More at link... and announcement here.
Now that's some forward thinking for you.
wraith808:
Interesting analysis of Tesla's move on Harvard Business Review.
The first thing to note is that Tesla is not truly giving away its secret sauce, the source of its competitive advantage. “There’s a lot of thinking in the research these days on the gap between the codified knowledge that is patentable and gets disclosed versus tacit knowledge that really exists in how you actually produce,” says Orly Lobel, a law professor at the University of San Diego specializing in intellectual property. “That gap is probably relevant in this market.”
A Tesla vehicle is quite literally more valuable than the sum of the parts, even when the value of the patented technology is included. “They have this sexy car that people are increasingly liking,” says Lobel. “It’s something different from just the aggregation of the knowledge in the patents.”
That thinking is echoed by Alberto Galasso, another IP expert at the University of Toronto, who put it this way: “A patent on a great technology is worth nothing if there is no threat of imitation.” Access to the patents doesn’t ensure that a competitor can execute on an equally innovative product.
Tesla is trying to thread the needle of expanding the industry without giving up its competitive position. By giving away access to its patents it is offering competitors a leg up, but not fully ceding its lead in innovation.
“Tesla is very much the dominant innovator in the industry, so it can afford making that move,” Lobel told me, adding that the company may hope that it will trigger reciprocal action by others equally committed to furthering the industry.
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More at link.
Renegade:
Don't forget the Tesla blog post title:
All Our Patent Are Belong To You
Tesla has gone from uber-cool, to I just don't have words for that - slack jaw glassy staring eyes - anything cooler would... nah... not possible.
:Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:
Stoic Joker:
You just gotta love this guy!
The Electric Tesla Roadster 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds (and IIRC the top speed is around 130).
This patent move is a beautiful thing, that speaks back to the days when innovation made this country great. Now if we can just spice up the occasion by getting a few (dozen...) patent trolls to jump out of high-rise windows...we can go ahead and make this a national holiday.
wraith808:
Well, he's also not stupid. It's decidedly *not* open source. He just said that those with the right intent- he won't go after. Leaving the door open so that if someone has the wrong intent... well, he *will* go after them.
He sees the lay of the land... he's not competing with other electric car manufacturers. He's competing with an entrenched enemy in the gas stations and the traditional car makers and the perceptions of what an electric car is. He wants them to stop being seen as 'electric cars' and just be seen as 'cars'. And he's going to get a lot of friction from a lot of different directions. So... co-opt part of the perceived competition and turn them into allies against those who in the end probably never will be allies. Get popular opinion on your side, and change the battleground.
Some serious Musashi going on here. He's playing a totally different game, and I'm loving it!
This patent move is a beautiful thing, that speaks back to the days when innovation made this country great. Now if we can just spice up the occasion by getting a few (dozen...) patent trolls to jump out of high-rise windows...we can go ahead and make this a national holiday.
-Stoic Joker (June 13, 2014, 11:52 AM)
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Engineers >> Patents
Innovation >> Lawsuits
I don't see why people don't see that the mind is the true treasure, and that the mind that conceived the idea is infinitely more valuable than any given idea. And more minds looking at a problem produces better results in the end.
*sigh*
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