What will it take to make you seriously consider an EV?

why would they need to do industrial espionage when Tesla makes most of their patents open for use?

 

Just my opinion, but I am not getting into a driverless car........................No, Thank You

 

My post was intended more for humor than anything else.

Since you are expecting a serious conversation about Tesla and Patents, I will try to oblige you.


Tesla Patent Pledge

Patent Pledge
On June 12, 2014, Tesla announced that it will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use its technology. Tesla was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport, and this policy is intended to encourage the advancement of a common, rapidly-evolving platform for electric vehicles, thereby benefiting Tesla, other companies making electric vehicles, and the world. These guidelines provide further detail as to how we are implementing this policy.

Tesla’s Pledge
Tesla irrevocably pledges that it will not initiate a lawsuit against any party for infringing a Tesla Patent through activity relating to electric vehicles or related equipment for so long as such party is acting in good faith. Key terms of the Pledge are explained below.

Definition of Key Terms
"Tesla Patents" means all patents owned now or in the future by Tesla (other than a patent owned jointly with a third party or any patent that Tesla later acquires that comes with an encumbrance that prevents it from being subject to this Pledge). A list of Tesla Patents subject to the Pledge will be maintained at the following URL: https://www.tesla.com/legal/additional-resources#patent-list.

A party is "acting in good faith" for so long as such party and its related or affiliated companies have not:

• asserted, helped others assert or had a financial stake in any assertion of (i) any patent or other intellectual property right against Tesla or (ii) any patent right against a third party for its use of technologies relating to electric vehicles or related equipment;
• challenged, helped others challenge, or had a financial stake in any challenge to any Tesla patent; or
• marketed or sold any knock-off product (e.g., a product created by imitating or copying the design or appearance of a Tesla product or which suggests an association with or endorsement by Tesla) or provided any material assistance to another party doing so.

Transfer of Tesla Patents
Should Tesla ever transfer a Tesla Patent to a third party, it will do so only to a party that agrees, by means of a public declaration intended to be binding on such party, to provide the same protection that Tesla provided under the Pledge and to place the same requirement on any subsequent transferee.


Legal Effect
The Pledge, which is irrevocable and legally binding on Tesla and its successors, is a "standstill," meaning that it is a forbearance of enforcement of Tesla’s remedies against any party for claims of infringement for so long as such party is acting in good faith. In order for Tesla to preserve its ability to enforce the Tesla Patents against any party not acting in good faith, the Pledge is not a waiver of any patent claims (including claims for damages for past acts of infringement) and is not a license, covenant not to sue, or authorization to engage in patented activities or a limitation on remedies, damages or claims. Except as expressly stated in the Pledge, no rights shall be deemed granted, waived or received by implication, exhaustion, estoppel or otherwise. Finally, the Pledge is not an indication of the value of an arms-length, negotiated license or a reasonable royalty.

What this pledge means is that as long as someone uses our patents for electric vehicles and doesn’t do bad things, such as knocking off our products or using our patents and then suing us for intellectual property infringement, they should have no fear of Tesla asserting its patents against them.

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I clicked on the link

https://www.tesla.com/legal/additional-resources#patent-list.

to try and get the list of Tesla patents covered by the Pledge and it didn't really lead to an actual list of Patents.
Perhaps I will look some more for the list of Patents.


IANAL ("I am not a lawyer"), but there are some folks I follow on the Internet that are into legal stuff. They are mostly into Criminal Law rather than Patent Law.

 

I found a writeup about Tesla and the Patent Pledge. A key part in the Text is in Blue.

Why Tesla’s Open Source Patent Strategy Reinforces the Importance of Patenting

Elon Musk famously announced in an open letter in June of 2014 that Tesla would “not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.” In Musk’s words, “Technology leadership is not defined by patents… but rather by the ability of a company to attract and motivate the world’s most talented engineers. We believe that applying the open source philosophy to our patents will strengthen rather than diminish Tesla’s position in this regard.”

Was he right? It sure looks that way. Almost seven years later, Musk is one of the wealthiest people in the world.

But things are not as they seem. If you focus only on the words in Elon Musk’s open letter, you might think that Tesla’s success came after abandoning its electric vehicle technology patenting efforts in the interest of promoting social and environmental responsibility. That’s not what happened. The reality is that Musk’s open letter launched a shrewd patent strategy that gives Tesla access to the patented electric vehicle technology of other automotive OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) while Tesla continues to expand its own electric car patents.

Unfortunately, many tech startup founders have misinterpreted Musk’s open letter as an example of how a tech business can be successful without a patent portfolio. After all, the letter starts out by dramatically describing how the “wall of Tesla patents” was removed from the lobby of Tesla’s office building and how Musk no longer sees the value in pursuing patent protection.

But the reality is that Tesla did not abandon its electric car patents, nor did it dedicate its technology to the public. Tesla, like all other large tech companies, has a growing patent portfolio that it can strategically leverage to maintain market dominance and enforce against its competitors. Despite the anti-patent messaging surrounding its announcement, Tesla’s patent strategy reinforces why tech startups need to prioritize patentin

The brilliance of Tesla’s open source patent strategyg.
Tesla’s electric vehicle patent strategy announcement in 2014 was fairly controversial in the automotive world. At the time of the open letter, it seemed unfathomable that any company, Tesla included, could compete in the automotive market without a robust patent portfolio.

Automotive patent strategies are extremely complex, and automotive OEMs build and maintain massive patent portfolios that can be deployed against competitors if necessary. Even though automotive OEMs tend to avoid suing one another for patent infringement, their patent portfolios allow them to engage in cross-licensing agreements to share intellectual property with one another. That is important if, for example, different OEMs have patents on the technology that allows a vehicle to earn the highest safety rating. By dropping out of the patent race, Tesla would be excluded from the cross-licensing opportunities that other automotive OEMs enjoy. Not having Tesla patents would also diminish Tesla’s leverage over its suppliers, which could result in Tesla’s suppliers using Tesla technology and know-how for the benefit of Tesla’s competitors.

Obviously, Tesla is too patent savvy to let that happen. What Tesla really did was create a situation where it can use the patented technology of other automotive OEMs without having to enter into cross-license agreements.

Here’s how it works.

Tesla spent years innovating and securing patents for electric and autonomous vehicle technology before announcing its open source patent policy. Those Tesla patents didn’t go away with the publication of Musk’s open letter. Tesla patents can still be enforced just like any other patent.

More importantly, the Tesla open source electric vehicle patent strategy came with conditions. If an automotive OEM producing non tesla electric cars wants to use Tesla’s patented technology, it must agree to Tesla’s Patent Pledge, which requires, among other things, that the OEM agree that it will not sue Tesla for patent infringement nor challenge the validity of any Tesla patent. Put another way, by signing the Tesla Patent Pledge, an automotive OEM effectively gives Tesla the right to use technology within the scope of the OEMs patent portfolio. If an automotive OEM doesn’t agree to the Patent Pledge, Tesla can still enforce its patents against the automotive OEM.

This puts Tesla in an extremely valuable and unique position. Tesla developed much of the early technology around autonomous and electric vehicles. The major automotive OEMs including Ford, GM, Stellantis (formerly FCA), Mercedes, Honda, Toyota, BMW, Nissan, Volkswagen and others have announced plans to enter or compete in those markets within the next decade. Automotive OEMs producing electric cars, autonomous vehicles, or both, may find that they need a license to Tesla’s patented technology, encouraging their participation in the Tesla Patent Pledge. Therefore, as more automotive companies enter the electric and autonomous vehicle markets, Tesla will be able to exploit its competitors’ patented technology without spending time and money negotiating hundreds of cross-licensing agreements with its competitors.

That’s a brilliant strategy, no?

How tech startup founders can apply Tesla’s patent strategy
Before you try to implement Tesla’s patent strategy with your tech startup, it’s important to understand why Tesla’s patent strategy works.

First, Tesla secured some of the earliest patents in its technology areas. Any automotive OEM competing with Tesla is going to need to take great care to avoid infringing Tesla patents or it will have to agree to Tesla’s Patent Pledge, which gives Tesla the right to use the OEM’s patented technology.

Second, Tesla is already viewed as the market leader in the autonomous and electric vehicle spaces. Tesla’s brand recognition gives it an incredible competitive advantage in its industry. Specifically, Tesla can continue to compete with large automotive OEMs that enter the market regardless of whether those automotive OEMs rely on Tesla’s patented technology.

Therefore, contrary to the suggestion in Musk’s open letter, the best way for tech startups to adopt Tesla’s patent strategy is to continue securing or acquiring as many patents as possible in their technology area. Without that, the tech startup will have limited, if any, leverage over its competitors.

The other requirements for startups that want to mimic Tesla’s open patent strategy is to develop strong market share and brand recognition in an emerging technology field that will eventually attract competitors with large patent portfolios. That’s obviously much easier said than done. Building market share and brand recognition while avoiding a minefield of electric vehicle technology patents takes significant time and money. You may find large competitors in your market before you’re in a position comparable to where Tesla found itself in 2014.

Nevertheless, once a tech startup has those three things — broad patent protection, strong market share and strong brand recognition — in an emerging field that will attract a lot of competition, it can think about announcing an open source patent strategy, as Musk did, to access the patent portfolios of its electric vehicle competitors and dominate its market.

Continued in the next post...

 

...continued

Conclusion
Tesla’s decision to adopt an open-source patent strategy has had significant implications for the electric vehicle industry and beyond. By opening up its patents to other companies, Tesla has demonstrated a commitment to advancing the adoption of sustainable transportation through electric vehicles, while also positioning itself as a leader in the industry.

Through this strategy, Tesla has encouraged collaboration and innovation among its competitors, ultimately contributing to the growth of the electric vehicle market as a whole. The company’s actions have also set a precedent for other businesses to follow, highlighting the benefits of open-source technology and the potential for shared knowledge to drive progress and change.

In addition to its impact on the electric vehicle industry, Tesla’s open-source patent strategy also highlights the importance of intellectual property in today’s business landscape. While patents have traditionally been used to protect innovations and prevent others from using or replicating them, Tesla’s approach demonstrates a new way of thinking about intellectual property as a tool for collaboration and progress.

As the business landscape continues to evolve, it is clear that companies like Tesla will play a crucial role in driving innovation and growth. By embracing open-source technology and collaborating with others in their industry, businesses can create a culture of shared knowledge and innovation that benefits everyone involved.


Author's Bio

Stephen J. Kontos

Stephen J. Kontos is an experienced intellectual property attorney who helps companies protect their innovative products, brand names, software, and creative content. Some of the most innovative VC-backed tech startups, small businesses, mid-market companies, universities, and large companies in the United States have relied on Stephen’s IP protection strategies and services. Stephen is responsible for IP portfolios surrounding autonomous vehicle systems, fiber optic systems, digital video recorders, satellite communications systems, semiconductors, electronic medical devices, and many other technologies. Stephen is the founder and lead IP attorney of PATENTXP PLLC Intellectual Property Law Firm.

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Here is an older writeup written in more a dry legal way.

Powering Intellectual Pr owering Intellectual Property Sharing: How t ty Sharing: How to Make Tesla’s Patent Pledge Effective


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i don't know what companies have agreed to Tesla's Patent Pledge.

Overall it does seem that diving into the details of this topic leads to a discussion more complicated than most found in this Forum.

 

If anyone's interested...

 

Dude's acting like a mattress salesman or a persian rug store that is "going out of business" every month

 

Delete

 

it will be cheaper soon lol..

or else productions gonnna be done..

 

Those who paid full price and now can't re-sell the thing are not going to be happy with this "sale." Perhaps there should be a class action lawsuit to get Tesla to pony up the difference to the original owners?

Screwing with your buyers is a good way to build brand loyalty.

 

you do realize this a stripped down version of the original CT? Why would anyone be owed a difference?

 

no company is going to give money back.

it's on the suckers who paid double to say "first!!"

 

Cybertruck or Pinto? Pinto.

CyberTruck and Ford Pinto Fire Fatalities

Fatality Rate (Per 100,000 units)
Tesla Cybertruck-----------14.52
Ford Pinto (1971–1980)---0.85

 

If you buy a CyberTruck at all, you're already a sucker.

 

Toyota nailed it✔️

 

lol no

 

lol yes

 

Well...It's better than a Cybertruck.

 

Do it have 3000 hp?

 

everytime I see one , I wonder if lack of a strong father figure has something to do with it

could be wrong but saw a headline of Lamborghini scrapping their EV due to unfound demands