Ford Opens Electric Car Patents for Auto Industry R&D
Saying that "innovation is our goal," Ford Motor Co. will allow rival automakers to access its electrified vehicle patents, for a fee.
May 28, 2015 at 06:42 AM
3 minute read
No one at Ford Motor Co. has gone so far as to say patents stifle innovation, but one year after electric carmaker Tesla Motors Co. said it would allow other companies to use its patents for free, Ford announced it also will allow rival automakers to access its electrified vehicle patents, although for a fee.
“Innovation is our goal,” Kevin Layden, director of Ford electrification programs, said in a statement released Thursday. “The way to provide the best technology is through constant development and progress. By sharing our research with other companies, we will accelerate the growth of electrified vehicle technology and deliver even better products to customers.”
Both Ford and Tesla said they were making their respective IP moves to speed up research and development for electrified cars. Consumer demand for such vehicles has not met expectations despite government tax incentives and investments totaling billions of dollars by the auto industry. Alternative-power vehicles represent just 1.6 percent of total industry sales in 2015 through April, according to Automotive News' Data Center.
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