Tesla and Why Patents are Stupid

Tesla and Why Patents are Stupid

I hold 42 registered patents. Yet, I think that patents are a bad idea. I didn’t always feel that way, but as will be discussed, the innovation landscape has changed, and that means that what worked well before might be obsolete now. I can tell you from experience that patents come with great benefits and they still hold value, but what happens when you throw out conventional wisdom? That’s exactly what Elon Musk, the CEO and founder of Tesla Motors, asked (and did) on June 12, 2014. In a press release, Musk declared that “Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.”

If you’re unfamiliar with Tesla, it’s an automobile manufacturer that has produced a line of fast and sleek fully electric vehicles that represent the most innovative development to happen to automobiles since air conditioning. And they sell every single vehicle they make. Not bad for a company that many investors and analysts initially doubted. Musk has also founded innovative and highly profitable companies that include PayPal. He’s working on commercial space flight, transportation that will get commuters from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes, and the ultimate goal of putting a man on Mars. If there is a single man who embodies being a Breaker, it’s Elon Musk.

But back to Tesla’s plan for patent announcement. It seems stupid, and that’s why Tesla has made it into the Breaker Hall of Fame. After all, why would a company that makes its money off of its incredible technology suddenly make its competitive edge publicly available?

Continue reading here: https://nicholasjwebb.com/tesla-and-why-patents-are-stupid/

Marty Oehlbeck

Managing Director at Intellectual Portfolio LLC

10 年

Patents only offer the right to exclude. Musk chose to be inclusive and gain critical mass to make electric vehicles and his giga battery factory a success. I draw many parallels to the standards based activities that got VCRs and DVDs in every home. I hope his bold move pans out. The fact that Toyota is doing something somewhat similar with hydrogen vehicles is an indication of how hard it is to move the needle on the current internal combustion engine-based vehicle environment.

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Nicholas Webb

CEO of LeaderLogic? Transforming Top Brands Into Innovation Superstars?. Keynote Speaker on Future Trends, AI, and Healthcare. Bestselling Author Empowering Organizations to Thrive Amid Disruption and Chaotic Change.

10 年

Intellectual property is like a stock portfolio some should be used for the greater good of society, some should be used through open innovation to collaborate with strategic partners and some of course should be used to generate durable enterprise value. As an inventor with 42 US patents I don't diminish the value of compensating innovators is just those compensation strategies have changed drastically.

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Nikolay Bogatyrev

Certified TRIZ consultant, trouble-shooter, inventor and expert in Biomimetics.

10 年

Suggest, please, the better system to remunerate inventors/innovators.

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