While not very impressive grammatically, the statement published today on Tesla’s website that “all our patent are belong to you ” might have some earthshaking consequences in the intellectual property world. Tesla has decided that in the interest of developing an electric car market and battery infrastructure, they will no longer bring patent infringement lawsuits against anyone using their electric car technology in good faith. Perhaps there is an element of “save the world” altruism in this gesture, as Tesla claims to be motivated by a desire to get all gasoline-powered vehicles off the road. And Tesla acknowledges that they themselves can’t possibly build enough electric cars to accomplish that goal. But Tesla’s new policy also seems like a remarkable recognition that the usual strategy of protecting intellectual property rights for the purpose of preventing competition or obtaining license revenue, might actually be counter-productive to Tesla’s interest in building the electric car market, and creating the necessary support network of charging stations that will sustain it. Non-enforcement might be better for business.
Will Tesla’s new stance cause other companies to re-think the value of enforcing their patent rights? Quite possibly if the patent-holder is, like Tesla, trying to expand the market for its products, and encourage the development of related technology. But even apart from that situation, some patent holders might well question whether the pursuit of patent infringement claims is worth the enormous cost and risk, and whether a more open approach to technology might better serve companies’ business interests. Elon Musk’s explanation of his company’s new policy recognizes that receiving a patent often only buys you a ticket to a costly lawsuit, something that many other patent-holders have learned the hard way.
I’m not necessarily endorsing Tesla’s new strategy for everyone, as it probably doesn’t make sense for a lot of businesses, and I’m not sure whether it’s good for my business either. But the question whether to pursue litigation to enforce or defend against intellectual property claims, as opposed to some other strategy, is always worth careful consideration for every business on either side of the issue.
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