Ford-Toyota Patents

Interesting post here Aegison. Tried Snopes and nothing there.

I'm looking forward to seeing if this a rumor or fact. Somehow I think we'll never know unless your Detroit connections are reliable.

 

Old old news. Both Toyota and Ford have stated the very same for some time now. Non-issue.

 

This one comes up almost as often as the stupid "Hummer is better for the environment then the Prius" article. Its just not true.

Source link below:

"The reality is that Ford independently developed its own hybrid system at the same time Toyota was doing its own. The basic architecture of both systems is the same and both are based on the concepts developed and patented by TRW engineers in the late 1960s. When Ford introduced the Escape Hybrid, Toyota went after the Blue Oval for infringing on its patents. Ford had patents of its own on the technology that Toyota was using. Eventually, the two companies reached a cross-licensing agreement that gives both companies the right to build their own systems. Such cross-licensing agreements are common in these kinds of cases, but Ford did not use the Toyota hybrid system. The only other company that uses Toyota's system is Nissan for its Altima hybrid, and they actually buy hardware from Toyota. We continue deconstructing Reynolds' arguments after the jump"

from:

EDITORIAL: Attention Wall Street Journal - Ford does not use Toyota's hybrid system! — Autoblog Green

 

This^^^^

 

Patent sharing is actually common in the automotive industry. Prior to any issue ever arising regarding hybrids, I had read numerous articles about engine and transmission technology where different automakers had patents on different aspects of the vehicles but instead of licensing to each other, they agreed to leave each other alone. There is actually a term for this in the auto industry. I forget the term, but there is one.

 

initially, Ford paid royalties for certain aspects of the first gen FEH. they have long since moved away from that technology. also, a note, Ford developed their technology on their own. i'm sure a little reverse engineering gave them some ideas and what not...like who doesnt do that??

to prevent a possible lawsuit, Ford paid Toyota royalties but most of the technology was on Gen 1 Pri's that Toyota was no longer using anyway.

 

That's some very careful wording. Cross-licensing is still licensing. Instead of paying with $$, you pay with another patent.

When the first gen Escape Hybrid came out in 2004, Prius was already in second gen (3rd gen in Japan). The first gen Prius came out in 1997.

The question is when did the development of EH started? Before or after the first Prius came out? That's what I want to know.

 

The question really is how much tech did Ford use from the Supercar and another govt projects under the Clinton administration in the Escape? Those programs were running alongside Toyota's hybrid development. Some rumors have Toyota and Honda starting their hybrid programs because of them.

 

not a rumor. Toyota requested to be included in the Super Car development project and was turned down. Toyota, afraid of falling too far behind the technology race, immediately started their own project completely unawares that the Big 3 never had any intentions of actually bringing a car to market.

Toyota busted nice person to get the Prius out thinking they had won the race by a hair. little did they know that they were the only ones in the race. Honda did come out with the insight, but only as a curiosity only. that was reflected in the fact that they never in any single year produced enough to compete with the monthly totals the Prius was produced at

**edit** there is a lot of blame being placed on the failure of the american auto companies to realize the true needs of the American consumer.

imho, i blame Florida. there is no doubt imm, that the automotive landscape today would be unrecognizable had Gore won the election. The Supercar fund would have never lost traction.

 

Ford Prodigy developed as part of PNGV was more like Honda's IMA mild hybrid than the full hybrid like Prius or Escape Hybrid. It only had one MG between ICE and transmission.

Source

 

That is simply not true. Ford did not pay.

 

Modernly, our kids will begin to ask, ".... daddy, what does the 'Big 3' mean?".
To which I'll respond something to the effect that it was a little time in history when 3 big U.S. auto companies thought they could run their company's business without thinking of the long term consequences ... so they weren't preparred for how times would change. Thus, they went the way of the Dinosaurs, and now, only a few crocodiles remain, to remind us of how big dinosaurs once were.

 

right Ford did not pay, but they had actually offered to pay Toyota and i guess the patent sharing was the result.

 

That's how the patent system works. You get it first, and the rest have to pay you in some way.

But being first does not mean no one else was successfully developing whatever the patent is for.