Following UnitedLex’s deep dive on U.S. automotive patents, Joe Dearing, EVP, IP Solutions, recently shared the findings with IP Watchdog. In his article, “Automotive Patents: Brands are Wasting Millions of Dollars Annually in the United States Alone,” Joe breaks down the how and why of strategic patent lapsing, as well as which auto manufacturers have used it to their advantage, including Honda:
“Honda’s strategic patent lapsing helped the company save more than $28 million in U.S. patent portfolio maintenance fees from 2012 to 2021, reducing its renewal costs from $83 million to $55 million.”
And which ones have not (Hyundai):
“Hyundai is the worst performer among the top five automotive manufacturers in strategic patent lapsing. With an average lapse rate of 14%, Hyundai performs below the industry average and has been lapsing at a flat to slightly decreased rate over the last decade, missing out on opportunities to save shareholders money. From 2017-2021, Hyundai spent $16 million in maintenance fees to maintain its U.S. patents and faces more than $54 million in total renewal costs due over five years.”
The full article provides plenty more details; give it a read: HERE
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