IAM Media published an article diving into Tesla’s patent strategy with citations from Volume 1 of The UnitedLex Automotive U.S. Patent Lapse Analysis. In the article, author Angela Morris looks at Tesla’s recent patent litigation activity in the charging and battery space. As stated by Morris,
“Tesla Inc has become infamous in the IP community for its reputation as anti-patent.
Yet recent events suggest the company’s controversial figurehead is not wholly against embracing this form of IP: Tesla has filed its first US patent assertion against a competitor in the charging and battery space.
The patent complaint says that Tesla sent an infringement demand letter to Australian supercapacitor company CAP-XX, at the same time instructing the company to take a licence. The move is on the heels of CEO Elon Musk’s demand letter sent from Twitter to Meta over alleged trade secrets misappropriation in the creation of its microblogging app Threads.
Tesla’s anti-patent reputation stems from Musk’s comments over the years, calling patents “BS” and “for the weak”. Tesla has an “open patent pledge” not to sue other electric vehicle companies over 361 of its patents—only if they are “acting in good faith” and promise not to sue the carmaker in return.
The new assertion alleges infringement of patents that are not on the patent pledge list.
Does this indicate that Tesla is gaining interest in patent monetisation? We have reported in the past that the company secured loans with its patents as collateral and was savvy when considering patents in a broader context of commercial partnerships and acquisition deals. But sending demand letters, seeking licences, and filing litigations ups the ante considerably.”
Click here to read the full article.
