GM tops Patent Result ranking survey of fuel cell technology patents in the US
22 July 2011
A recent survey of fuel cell patents in the US from 1980 through the end of May 2011 by Patent Result in Japan put General Motors at the top with a score of 2,522.2 points, followed by Honda with 2,474.0 points. The survey factored in both quantity and quality; although Toyota had the most patents for the period (810), it came in fourth (1,790.5 points).
| US Fuel Cell Technology Patent Rankings | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Company | Total points | Number of patents | Highest point score for individual patent | ||
| 1 | General Motors | 2,522.2 | 799 | 77.1 | ||
| 2 | Honda | 2,470.0 | 770 | 90.6 | ||
| 3 | US Dept. of Energy | 1,898.8 | 377 | 89.6 | ||
| 4 | Toyota | 1,790.5 | 810 | 78.9 | ||
| 5 | Panasonic | 1,782.3 | 402 | 83.2 | ||
Patent Result is selling a more detailed report on its findings.
(A hat-tip to Stephen!)
That's way too many patents by very few firsm/groups on the same subject matter. It could have major negative effects on FC evolution and commercialization. Nobody will be able to mass produce FC without having to negotiate for decades with patent holders. That is a major unwanted road block.
No wonder that China will ignore a few.
Posted by: HarveyD | 22 July 2011 at 02:21 PM
To bad you can't patent paranoia.
Posted by: ToppaTom | 22 July 2011 at 07:36 PM
I'm gonna... soon as I can shake these black helicopters.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 23 July 2011 at 07:52 AM
Yeah, nobody has ever used the patent system to obstruct technical advancement or extort money from real tech firms. Espcially not an ex-Microsoft patent troll.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 24 July 2011 at 07:41 PM