A patent is something that is "exclusively" owned by an individual or company, as we can see from the literal meaning. Especially in the field of "drug production", even if companies with patents do not make drugs, they will still make huge profits every year. In Western countries, patents are very important, so many "infringement lawsuits" have occurred. Inventing a trendy patent can bring endless wealth and supreme status for several lifetimes. When it comes to "money", it is a "treacherous world", which is why some people rely on "patent lawsuits" to survive. However, in the Japanese manufacturing industry, the purpose of patents has gradually shifted from collecting royalties to obtaining "market position."
This change may be difficult for readers to understand for a while, so I will explain it again: For example, in the automobile industry, there are many patents on a car. These patents are not only "weapons" for car manufacturers. , also a "shield". In order to prevent this product from being involved in patent disputes involving other products, many components and technologies, car manufacturing companies and their suppliers will apply for patents to protect them. In short, it is "patent armor"!
Toyota has 23,740 published patents
In 2015, in order to popularize fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), Toyota opened about 5,680 patents related to fuel cell vehicles. Patented technology. In April 2019, Toyota released almost all patented technologies related to hybrid vehicles. It is estimated that by 2030, Toyota will provide approximately 23,740 patented technologies related to new energy vehicles for free!
Applying for a patent requires fees. Applying for a patent in Japan costs about 1 million yen (about 60,000 RMB). If a Japanese company applies for a patent overseas, the cost can reach 3 million yen. About 180,000 yuan (approximately 180,000 RMB). Opening patents free of charge means that the cost of patent application cannot be recovered and the advantageous position of patent development is given up. As a competitor, companies are very happy to use patents at no cost. Why would Toyota choose to do something that seems to have no merit? What are the "conspiracies" hidden behind the free openness of patents?
First-class companies “make standards”
In 2015, Toyota opened up its FCV patented technology with the intention of establishing a new market for FCV. In order to popularize FCV vehicles, it is necessary to establish a complete infrastructure so that fuel can be supplied at any time, so it is necessary to replace the existing infrastructure or build other facilities. Although Toyota is "as rich as any other country" in Japan, its infrastructure investment is huge and cannot be afforded by a single company. If you want to stimulate changes in social trends, you must unite more automobile companies to invest in the development of FCV vehicles. Only in this way can you trigger a trend of social change.
Although Toyota has opened up its patents, if the FCV market develops rapidly, then the basis of this market will be "Toyota patents". In other words, Toyota has established the standard for the entire FCV market, which has also consolidated its "hegemonic" position in the FCV market, and its benefits are unimaginable. In the field of sociology, there is a term called "excess inertia", which means that once people adapt to a specific technology, it is difficult to escape from this technology.
For example, we are all using touch-screen mobile phones now. If any company develops some "button" mobile phones now, there will definitely be no market, so now touch-screen mobile phones are a "standardized" mobile phone product. After standardization, no matter which company can gain an advantage in market competition, the company that produces the standard does not need to worry about its position being affected. Because the standard is made by "I", you have to use it! Let me give you another example. The computer keyboards we use now are configured according to QWERTY. This cannot be said to be designed according to "ergonomics". Some people even said it was "difficult to learn" at first.
But why wasn't it eliminated? The reason is "excess inertia". Now no one can design a keyboard combination that can shake up the QWERTY configuration, and even if it is designed, it cannot be popularized!
Companies that have gained a dominant position in a certain field will standardize specifications in order to maintain their strong position and prevent generational updates. However, there are also ways to break this "standardized" status, the most common of which is "patent litigation." For example, during the transition from 2G to 3G, and from 3G to 4G, before you knew it, there were many patent litigation cases in the world, and there will definitely be more in the future. The most famous one is the patent lawsuit between Nokia and Qualcomm!
Nokia, with its 2G technology, was once the world leader in mobile phones. Qualcomm is a well-known semiconductor manufacturer with many 3G technology patents, but it is difficult to shake Nokia's position. So Qualcomm adopted a "patent litigation" method, accusing Nokia of not paying enough "patent royalties", and Nokia fought against it. The two companies launched vigorous patent litigation lawsuits around the world. At that time, Qualcomm's legal expenses were as high as hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
Eventually, the two companies reached a settlement, but by the time of the settlement, Nokia had already declined and was eventually sold to Microsoft. Why did Qualcomm choose this way? Its purpose is to "deterr", and the target of deterrence is not Nokia, but "affiliated enterprises" that rely on Nokia mobile phones. Qualcomm told companies related to Nokia through patent litigation that 2G is already dangerous and you must move to a safe zone. Where is the safe zone? That is 3G technology! Threatening the "camp" of rival companies to cause their internal collapse and promote technology transfer to the next era is one of the common methods used by the patent industry.