Posts Tagged: "mitsubishi"

Vestas says it will challenge GE’s claims in lawsuit filed over wind turbine patent

Boston, MA-based global digital industrial firm General Electric filed a complaint for patent infringement against Dutch wind turbine company Vestas Wind Systems A/S. GE filed the lawsuit in response to alleged infringement conducted by Vestas in the field of power grid technology. The suit is filed in the Central District of California. GE is asserting one patent in the case: U.S. Patent No. 7629705, titled Method and Apparatus for Operating Electrical Machines. Issued in December 2009, it discloses a method for operating an electrical machine by coupling an electrical machine to an electric power system, and configuring the machine so that it remains electrically connected to the power system during and after any instances in which the operating voltage of the power system is outside of a predetermined range for an undetermined period of time.

Established Automakers Not Yielding to Technology Companies on Autonomous Cars

Thomson Reuters analysts put their research in high gear to quantify just who the major players in this space are with the “2016 State of Self-Driving Automotive Innovation.” Data was aggregated from the Derwent World Patents Index® collection to identify global patent activity and the total number of unique inventions issued in published patent applications and granted patents were analyzed from January 2010 through October 31, 2015. The findings detail a notable commitment from carmakers and tech companies to advance driverless technology, while uncovering the fact that established automakers are the most likely to have the biggest impact in the self-driving category in the near term.

Multi-billion dollar industry developing for face and eye recognition systems

Biosensor technologies, a tech sector which involves the use of devices that can detect and measure biological functions in living things, is set to become a very valuable business in the coming decade. According to a recent report from Frost & Sullivan, the global market for biosensors generated $11.53 billion in revenues during 2014, a figure that the firm expects to rise to $28.78 billion by 2021. According to the Invention Evaluator analysis of smart vision systems the highest proportion of applications for patents relating to face or eye recognition systems originate from China, followed by the United States. Spielo International, Fuzhou Fufeng, and Mitsubishi Electric are among the most prolific applicants (see chart below taken from the report), and patent activity over the past decade shows a consistent rise in applications, indicating a technology growth phase.

Fuel cell vehicle development increases despite EV dominance in alternative fuel car market

Car manufacturers around the world tend to fall into either the EV or the FCV camp when assessing their developments in alternative fuel-powered vehicles. There are far more players in the electric vehicle field, which is headed up by Nissan Motor Company (TYO:7201) and Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA). In 2014, those two companies accounted for nearly 60,000 new vehicle sales, about half of all new electric vehicle sales that year. Other car makers developing electric vehicles include BMW, Ford, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen. Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) occupies the lead position among hydrogen fuel cell vehicle makers in terms of development. This January, we profiled Toyota’s decision to offer cost-free licensing of nearly 6,000 hydrogen fuel cell patents only a few months after Tesla decided to completely open source the few hundred EV patents it holds in its corporate portfolio.

GE Wins at Federal Circuit in Mitsubishi Wind Turbine Case

On Friday, July 6, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision in General Electric Co. v. ITC. The Federal Circuit, per Judge Newman with Chief Judge Rader and Judge Linn, did not give GE a total victory, but victory enough over Mitsubishi. The Federal Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the original decision of the ITC, and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the decision. Ultimately, the Federal Circuit ruled that claim 15 of the ‘985 patent, correctly construed, covers the domestic industry turbines. Of note, the CAFC continues to interpret “connected to” and “coupled to” as not requiring physical separation.