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Safe cars sell. What makes you think that car safety is anything but a business strategy? There is of course the story of Volvo's handling of the patent for t

by slg 1y ago

Safe cars sell. What makes you think that car safety is anything but a business strategy? There is of course the story of Volvo's handling of the patent for the 3-point seat belt, but that was over a half century ago and was notably not an American company. Has there been anything like that in recent history?

Retric 1y ago
In 2025 Renault released their patented Fireman Access system for free. https://fireandsafetyjournalamericas.com/renault-group-makes-fireman-access-available-with-free-license/ https://fireandsafetyjournalamericas.com/renault-group-makes... Toyota offered a ton (20,000+) of EV power train related patents for free in 2019, with the stated goal of combating climate change. Tesla did someone similar in 2014. There’s a surprising number of such cases over time.
- slg 1y ago
  Fair enough, but you only gave examples without addressing the root of my question. What evidence is there that these aren't business strategies? How do we know these companies aren't just getting a nice press release in exchange for releasing a relatively low value patent or hoping to benefit long term when their technology becomes the industry standard? Is there actually evidence that these innovations would have been incredibly valuable to these companies if kept private but are instead being given away for the betterment of humanity? Because the original point wasn't that companies can never do anything good. It is that when given a choice between the betterment of humanity and profit, they almost always choose profit.
  - Retric 1y ago
    Be careful of those weasel words like almost always. Any dollar not made is profit lost. So, every charitable donation would need to be a net gain for your preposition to be true. Obviously companies make sub optimal choices all the time even when aiming for profit. A more realistic view is large companies are only loosely aligned with any one goal and people inside them regularly direct the companies resources for their own ends. This may mean using suppliers that wine and dine middle management, but it can also mean supporting whatever causes individuals with power feel are important.

by slg 1y ago

Retric 1y ago

In 2025 Renault released their patented Fireman Access system for free. https://fireandsafetyjournalamericas.com/renault-group-makes-fireman-access-available-with-free-license/ https://fireandsafetyjournalamericas.com/renault-group-makes... Toyota offered a ton (20,000+) of EV power train related patents for free in 2019, with the stated goal of combating climate change. Tesla did someone similar in 2014. There’s a surprising number of such cases over time.

slg 1y ago
Fair enough, but you only gave examples without addressing the root of my question. What evidence is there that these aren't business strategies? How do we know these companies aren't just getting a nice press release in exchange for releasing a relatively low value patent or hoping to benefit long term when their technology becomes the industry standard? Is there actually evidence that these innovations would have been incredibly valuable to these companies if kept private but are instead being given away for the betterment of humanity? Because the original point wasn't that companies can never do anything good. It is that when given a choice between the betterment of humanity and profit, they almost always choose profit.
- Retric 1y ago
  Be careful of those weasel words like almost always. Any dollar not made is profit lost. So, every charitable donation would need to be a net gain for your preposition to be true. Obviously companies make sub optimal choices all the time even when aiming for profit. A more realistic view is large companies are only loosely aligned with any one goal and people inside them regularly direct the companies resources for their own ends. This may mean using suppliers that wine and dine middle management, but it can also mean supporting whatever causes individuals with power feel are important.