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My guess is that it's a game theory move. No one wants to be making electric cars until everyone is making electric cars. Everyone wants to make electric cars
by Pfhreak 8y ago
My guess is that it's a game theory move.
No one wants to be making electric cars until everyone is making electric cars.
Everyone wants to make electric cars, but no one wants to step out in front.
Now that we're seeing Tesla succeed, I suspect the bit is being flipped, and a lot of companies are trying to convince each other that we should all jump into making electric cars now.
Opening up patent libraries lowers the barriers for others. It's grabbing the hand of the kid next to you before you all jump off the dock together to go swimming. It doesn't fundamentally change the nature of the landscape, but it makes it easier to get started.
- LifeLiverTransp 8y agoIn addition - you defacto set the standard, without ever holding a single standardization meeting.
- Erlich_Bachman 8y agoIs there really an example that would prove that this ever happens? Aren't patents usually just clever ways of doing things, not necessarily decisions about the exact dimensions/contacts/voltages/etc. All other manufacturers could easily just take patents and make their own standards based on them?
- nitrogen 8y agoAren't patents usually just clever ways of doing things One would hope, but from reading Groklaw back in the day and HN now, it doesn't seem so.
- Scoundreller 8y agoFireWire failed for its patents from Apple. Intel didn't want to develop around a port with a $1/port royalty. It took over another decade to move beyond 5V charging.
- solarkraft 8y agoIntel provided another great example of this recently: Thunderbolt 3 controllers used to cost quite a bit, so they weren't included in lower-cost devices. They saw that that didn't work out that well for them and made it royalty-free. Now it's basically the new USB standard.
- rrix2 8y ago> Now it's basically the new USB standard. Not even basically. It is USB 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#USB4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#USB4
- clouddrover 8y ago> Everyone wants to make electric cars, but no one wants to step out in front. Volkswagen has already stepped out in front. VW is investing 80 billion euros in their electric car effort: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-electric-insight-idUSKCN1PV0K4 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-electric-insig... VW will be the biggest producer of electric cars in a few years. > a lot of companies are trying to convince each other that we should all jump into making electric cars now They need to make electric cars now to meet EU and Chinese emissions fleet emissions targets: http://fortune.com/2018/12/20/volkswagen-electric-cars-emissions/ http://fortune.com/2018/12/20/volkswagen-electric-cars-emiss... https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/vw-group-more-evs-carbon-neutral-2050/ https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/vw-group-more-evs-carbon-... In the future new car sales of ICE vehicles will be banned and ICE cars will be banned from some cities, in some places as soon as 2030: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-emissions-germany-idUSKCN1280G7 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-emissions-germany-i... https://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/15825/these-are-the-countries-that-plan-to-ban-non-electrified-vehicles https://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/15825/these-are-the-coun... http://fortune.com/2017/10/12/paris-combustion-engine-ban/ http://fortune.com/2017/10/12/paris-combustion-engine-ban/ If car companies want to stay in the car business they will have to produce battery electric cars or hydrogen fuel cell cars or both.
- ianai 8y agoThey’re probably making a kind of patent war firewall with this move. I’m not sure how it’d work, legally, but the clause about not paying royalties unless being engaged in lawsuits related to the tech is clearly strategic.