automotive
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The focus on IP in the automotive industry has intensified in many diverse areas. For example, the industry faces issues such as counterfeiting in their branding, while technological convergence means that patent protection and enforcement, licensing and collaboration have become more important than ever. One of the numerous new challenges is the entrance of new and non-traditional companies into the market, such as high-tech companies, that are developing extensive patent portfolios related both to traditional automobile manufacturing and emerging technologies. As in many other industries, the findings confirm that the automotive industry is seeing the activity of non-practicing entities (NPEs) rising.

Recently Darts-ip published a report to address the latest IP litigation developments in the automotive industry, presenting litigation trends and data based on the sector’s biggest players. It seeks to highlight the unique litigation dynamics, allowing professionals supporting these related technologies to consider these trends when developing IP strategies. The data demonstrates the utility of looking at patent and trademark cases globally for IP management.

A tutorial guide published by Minesoft showed that the driverless vehicle technology area is of growing interest within the automotive industry. Companies like Toyota, Bosch and Ford/GM are dominating the IP landscape, resulting in most of the research occurring in the US, Japan and Germany where the majority of the automotive industry is located. Other upcoming prevalent jurisdictions include China and Korea.

The majority of applications in the driverless vehicle field are currently active and “alive” which is not surprising given the prematurity of the patent landscape and the rapidly increasing number of filings since 2010.

PatBase, the leading searchable global database of patents, utility models and designs co-produced by RWS PLC and Minesoft, will soon be enhanced by the extensive Darts-ip collection of patent/IP litigation data. Direct Links from PatBase will lead to detailed disclosures in the rapidly growing global Darts-ip Case Law database.

This new partnership offers IP search professionals and IP lawyers an excellent way to locate, track and view the complex area of litigation within the IP landscape. Users can search and view well-organised, extensive bibliographic, legal status and full-text patent data from over 100 countries, alongside unique case law data – accessing patent validity status, ongoing litigation, party’s aggressiveness – via one unique, detailed search platform designed for Intellectual Property experts.