[MightyMouseTech]

Just read this on the Tesla website. Making all their patents public domain.

Pretty interesting stuff.

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-...are-belong-you

[Arsonism]

That's awesome.

Although I fear the day that electric cars rule the world and snobby kids will be burning past us (with culture beyond generations) away laughing and sneering purely because their faster off the line and the old school car culture will have died with us geezers and our combustion.


Power to the electric guys for trying to do good in such a bad industry though. Seriously.

[MightyMouseTech]

Let the kids have it! More gas for us!!!!

[derryck]

It was a very smart move going open source and it should also reach a solution to the current bottleneck in the EV industry which is batteries. Obviously Elon is no dummy as SpaceX and Tesla are both leaders in their respective fields. This move will drive competition in the EV sector and create better products at a more reasonable price. This is a huge win...

[wisesoul]

Elon you cool motherf*cker. That is awesome

[BMW269]

Still, so many years we are promised new tech batteries, that would be compact, light, powerful, and long-lasting, but even the iPhone after so many generations has not made any significant improvement.

[danniexi]

Originally Posted by Levi

Still, so many years we are promised new tech batteries, that would be compact, light, powerful, and long-lasting, but even the iPhone after so many generations has not made any significant improvement.

there has been major significant improvements in battery designs. We haven't seen any tangible evidence of that because people want faster processors and larger/brighter screen sizes while at the same time having a thinner and lighter phone. For the iPhone (for example), the reason why there hasn't been a longer battery life is because we have 64-bit processor with a 4" HD display while it's incredibly thin and light. Compare to what we got in 2007 I'd say there has been a massive leaps in terms of battery technology.

the same will go for cars. give it time, and with access to this information, car manufacturers will be able to utilize these technologies into their own cars. better MPG while providing lower emissions AND more power and torque. it's a win win for the enthusiast as well as the wannabe environmentalist (sorta). i say this because producing these batteries, especially mining for lithium batteries, creates a massive carbon debt (while destroying the environment). The only way to offset that carbon debt is if the car is charged for over hundreds of thousands of miles. Of course, batteries need to be replaced every 5-10 years, which doesn't help the situation.

[MisterSkiMask]

Musk is a bad mofo

You guys should listen to the Adam corolla show with Mark Cuban, discussion about patent trolls, open source, and innovation. Interesting stuff

[Efthreeoh]

All patents are in the public domain. The worst thing to do if you want to protect your IP is get a patent for it, because it then becomes public knowledge. Everyone knows this. It's why Coke Cola has never patented the formula for Coke, they keep it a trade secret. If Elon wanted to keep patent infringement lawsuits, then he could of simply just licensed the IP.

I wonder how the stock will do...

[derryck]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

All patents are in the public domain. The worst thing to do if you want to protect your IP is get a patent for it, because it then becomes public knowledge. Everyone knows this. It's why Coke Cola has never patented the formula for Coke, they keep it a trade secret. If Elon wanted to keep patent infringement lawsuits, then he could of simply just licensed the IP.

I wonder how the stock will do...

His intent is not to protect their IP as that would be impossible at this point. I'm betting the Chinese have been reverse engineering Teslas for some time now. He's creating competition to drive the technology in that sector to get past the current 'choke point' which is batteries. Also, that's a very narrow viewpoint you have. Many companies (like Apple) do quite well with patents and infringement lawsuits.

[Meeni]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

All patents are in the public domain. The worst thing to do if you want to protect your IP is get a patent for it, because it then becomes public knowledge.

Public knowledge and public domain are not at all the same thing. As you say, patents are supposed to decribe the process/design so that everybody can know about it (public knowledge). That does not make it free for you to use it: you have to pay royalties and can be barred to do it altogether if the patent holder so decides.

Public domain is entirely different, that makes you free to duplicate, copy, improve, all that without paying a dime to Tesla. Beautiful but strange move from Tesla really, they have quite some dough invested in R&D, I'm surprise that they give it away. Maybe they have kept the secret sauce unpattented (to keep it secret).

[son_of_siggy]

Originally Posted by Meeni

Public knowledge and public domain are not at all the same thing. As you say, patents are supposed to decribe the process/design so that everybody can know about it (public knowledge). That does not make it free for you to use it: you have to pay royalties and can be barred to do it altogether if the patent holder so decides.

Public domain is entirely different, that makes you free to duplicate, copy, improve, all that without paying a dime to Tesla. Beautiful but strange move from Tesla really, they have quite some dough invested in R&D, I'm surprise that they give it away. Maybe they have kept the secret sauce unpattented (to keep it secret).

Bingo.

It's a smart move on Tesla. In order to be successful in the future they need electric cars to continue their upward trend. That will never happen unless the big 3+ some get involved in a bigger way. Tesla wants them to get involved, sell them batteries, and then continue to create better cars, while utilizing the vastly expanded infrastructure that is build/supported by all the makers.

[yousefnjr]

Originally Posted by Levi

Still, so many years we are promised new tech batteries, that would be compact, light, powerful, and long-lasting, but even the iPhone after so many generations has not made any significant improvement.

I bought a replacement battery for my iphone off amazon for $4. At that price I'm not so sure they're state-of-the-art

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by derryck

His intent is not to protect their IP as that would be impossible at this point. I'm betting the Chinese have been reverse engineering Teslas for some time now. He's creating competition to drive the technology in that sector to get past the current 'choke point' which is batteries. Also, that's a very narrow viewpoint you have. Many companies (like Apple) do quite well with patents and infringement lawsuits.

So my typing wasn't perfect; I don't have a narrow viewpoint. I meant to say if Elon wants to prevent patent infringment lawsuits he could simply just license his IP to whomever wants to use it. This would allow him to control who DOES use the IP; by giving it away, apparently now anyone can use it (I'll say that Elon typing on his webiste that he'll not sue anyone for using the IP wouldn't hold up in court as a defense for someone's patent infringement of his IP). Patents only temporarily protect IP because after a specified term the patent expires then the IP becomes useable by anyone (because it is already in the public domain), unless the IP is modified and the patent is extended.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Meeni

Public knowledge and public domain are not at all the same thing. As you say, patents are supposed to decribe the process/design so that everybody can know about it (public knowledge). That does not make it free for you to use it: you have to pay royalties and can be barred to do it altogether if the patent holder so decides.

Public domain is entirely different, that makes you free to duplicate, copy, improve, all that without paying a dime to Tesla. Beautiful but strange move from Tesla really, they have quite some dough invested in R&D, I'm surprise that they give it away. Maybe they have kept the secret sauce unpattented (to keep it secret).

This is not correct. There are many things in the public domain, which are not free to be used by anyone for any reason. Recorded music is one example. Recorded music is in the public domain, you can buy a song for personal use, but it is illegal to use it for profit-making purposes without paying a license fee.

[Meeni]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

This is not correct. There are many things in the public domain, which are not free to be used by anyone for any reason. Recorded music is one example. Recorded music is in the public domain, you can buy a song for personal use, but it is illegal to use it for profit-making purposes without paying a license fee.

Recoreded music in the public domain is free. The thing is that most recoreded music is COPYRIGHTED, so it is not in the public domain at all. IP laws are quite complex, you should take a short look if you are interested. In summary:

public domain: free to use/copy/duplicate/upgrade, contains mostly old stuff from 1800s and before
copyrighted: music, books, paintings/art photography, computer software: not free to use, but cannot prevent somebody from making a ripoff that looks similar but is "different" (think how many vampire movies and books have been made after twilight). Copyright last for a long, long time, and is free to the author.
patented: industrial processes, fabrication processes, last 30 years (more or less depending on area etc), cost money to obtain (you have to apply at the patent office). The patent content is -public knowledge- but the content is protected. The owner of the patent can demand royalties from people that employ a similar process (even when it is for a different purpose, although patent office pretend to limit scope), and can bar people to use the technology at all for the duration of the patent (think lego bricks). After the patent expires, the technology becomes public domain.
design patents: fashion dresses, shape of phones, brand and logos, authors have to pay for it, application is automatically accepted. Don't know exactly how they work in practice. They don't last very long but I believe that you can renew infinitely.