Tesla Motors: Copy Us if You Want (2014)

TESLA MOTORS: COPY US IF YOU WANT
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JEAN-FRANÇOIS JOURNAULT AND JEAN-SÉBASTIEN RODRIGUEZ PAQUETTE
ROBIC, LLP
LAWYERS, PATENT AND TRADE-MARK AGENTS
On June 12th, Elon Musk, CEO of the Tesla Motors automaker, issued a release on
the company's website announcing the “freeing” of Tesla patents in order to allow
competitors to use them.
More specifically, the high-end electric automaker will retain its patent rights, but will
commit to not initiate court proceedings against potential competitors. In return, these
competitors will have to agree with the “open source” vision of Tesla Motors by
freeing their own patents.
In his release, Mr. Musk mentioned that Tesla Motors was created with the mission to
accelerate the advent of sustainable transport and to clear a path to the creation of
compelling electric vehicles. However, according to Musk, in order to carry out this
mission, the company must avoid using intellectual property assets to create barriers
for those who are following in its footsteps.
This announcement led some to question the reasoning behind investing in a patent
only to allow competitors to use the patented technology for free. In other words,
would it not have been better to save money by not patenting the technology in the
first place?
To answer this question, it is worth remembering that a patent can be used not only
as an offensive weapon against those who copy or use the protected technology, but
can also be used as a defensive weapon to counterattack in case of a potential
prosecution from competitors. This is why Tesla Motors will maintain ownership of its
patents, although the company claims that it will not use them against its competitors.
In addition, some sources indicate that Tesla uses its patents as a leverage to obtain
financing. Tesla's patents could also be used as a bargaining chip in negociations
surrounding a lawsuit.
It appears that this highly publicized decision has two distinct aspects. On one hand,
it demonstrates that the company and its CEO are losing faith in the U.S. patent
system which, according to Mr. Musk, interferes with its primary mission by slowing
© CIPS, 2014.
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From ROBIC, LLP, a multidisciplinary firm of Lawyers, and Patent and Trade-mark Agents. Published
in the Summer 2014 (Vol. 18, no. 1) Newsletter of the firm. Publication 068.177E.
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down technological progress, entrenching the positions of giant corporations and
enriching lawyers.
On the other hand, this strategic choice could be a wise business decision. By
allowing its competition to adopt its technology, Tesla Motors is hoping that its
revolutionary charging technology will become the standard in the electric car
industry. This way, the Californian company will be sure that none of its competitors
will develop a new standard capable of pushing Telsa Motors out of its own market.
In other words, Telsa Motors may have learned from errors made in the past by other
standards-related companies, such as Beta-Max and HD DVD ,which were replaced
by the VHS and Blu-Ray standards.
Is this the beginning of a new era for the freedom of use of patented technology? It is
still too early to draw any conclusions, but we hope that this announcement will give a
strong boost to the electric car market!
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For services pertaining to intellectual property, technology and
communication law and related matters (including patent and trade-mark
agency services) as well as legal services.
ROBIC, un groupe d'avocats et d'agents de brevets et de marques de
commerce voué depuis 1892 à la protection et à la valorisation de la propriété
intellectuelle dans tous les domaines: brevets, dessins industriels et modèles
utilitaires; marques de commerce, marques de certification et appellations
d'origine; droits d'auteur, propriété littéraire et artistique, droits voisins et de
l'artiste interprète; informatique, logiciels et circuits intégrés; biotechnologies,
pharmaceutiques et obtentions végétales; secrets de commerce, know-how et
concurrence; licences, franchises et transferts de technologies; commerce
électronique, distribution et droit des affaires; marquage, publicité et
étiquetage; poursuite, litige et arbitrage; vérification diligente et audit. ROBIC,
a group of lawyers and of patent and trademark agents dedicated since 1892 to
ROBIC, LLP
www.robic.ca
[email protected]
MONTREAL
1001 Square-Victoria - Bloc E - 8th Floor
Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Z 2B7
Tel.: +1 514 987-6242 Fax: +1 514 845-7874
QUEBEC
2828 Laurier Boulevard, Tower 1, Suite 925
Quebec, Quebec, Canada G1V 0B9
Tel.: +1 418 653-1888 Fax.: +1 418 653-0006
5
the protection and the valorization of all fields of intellectual property: patents,
industrial designs and utility patents; trademarks, certification marks and
indications of origin; copyright and entertainment law, artists and performers,
neighbouring rights; computer, software and integrated circuits;
biotechnologies, pharmaceuticals and plant breeders; trade secrets, knowhow, competition and anti-trust; licensing, franchising and technology
transfers; e-commerce, distribution and business law; marketing, publicity and
labelling; prosecution litigation and arbitration; due diligence. ®/MD
COPYRIGHTER TM/MC
IDEAS LIVE HERE ®/MD
IL A TOUT DE MÊME FALLU L'INVENTER!
® MD
/
LA MAÎTRISE DES INTANGIBLES ®/MD
LEGER ROBIC RICHARD ®/MD
NOS FENÊTRES GRANDES OUVERTES SUR LE MONDE DES AFFAIRES ®/MD
PATENTER®/MD
or stylizedR®/MD
ROBIC®/MD
or stylized ROBIC ++++®/MD
or stylized ROBIC + DROIT +AFFAIRES +SCIENCES +ARTS®/MD
or stylized ROBIC +LAW +BUSINESS +SCIENCE +ART®/MD
THE TRADEMARKER GROUP TM/MC
TRADEMARKER TM/MC
VOS IDÉES À LA PORTÉE DU MONDE , DES AFFAIRES À LA GRANDEUR DE
LA PLANÈTE®/MD
ROBIC, LLP
www.robic.ca
[email protected]
MONTREAL
1001 Square-Victoria - Bloc E - 8th Floor
Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Z 2B7
Tel.: +1 514 987-6242 Fax: +1 514 845-7874
QUEBEC
2828 Laurier Boulevard, Tower 1, Suite 925
Quebec, Quebec, Canada G1V 0B9
Tel.: +1 418 653-1888 Fax.: +1 418 653-0006
6
YOUR BUSINESS IS THE WORLD OF IDEAS; OUR BUSINESS BRINGS YOUR
IDEAS TO THE WORLD ®/MD
Trade-marks of ROBIC, LLP for its services pertaining to intellectual
property, technology and communication law and related matters
(including patent and trade-mark agency services) as well as legal
services
ROBIC, LLP
www.robic.ca
[email protected]
MONTREAL
1001 Square-Victoria - Bloc E - 8th Floor
Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Z 2B7
Tel.: +1 514 987-6242 Fax: +1 514 845-7874
QUEBEC
2828 Laurier Boulevard, Tower 1, Suite 925
Quebec, Quebec, Canada G1V 0B9
Tel.: +1 418 653-1888 Fax.: +1 418 653-0006