Toyota announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week that it will make about 5,680 hydrogen-fuel-cell patents available royalty-free, including ones developed for the Toyota Mirai.
“At Toyota, we believe that when good ideas are shared, great things can happen,” said Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations at Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., in a press release. “The first generation hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, launched between 2015 and 2020, will be critical, requiring a concerted effort and unconventional collaboration between automakers, government regulators, academia, and energy providers. By eliminating traditional corporate boundaries, we can speed the development of new technologies and move into the future of mobility more quickly, effectively and economically.”
The company said the patents will be available to automakers, fuel-cell parts suppliers, and energy companies. In addition, they will be available to companies developing fuel-cell buses or industrial equipment such as forklifts.
The Toyota announcement reflects a similar announcement by Elon Musk last summer that Tesla Motors would not initiate patent lawsuits of anyone who wants to use Tesla technology.
Toyota said that companies interested in Toyota’s fuel cell-related patents would need to negotiate individual contracts with Toyota.
