Study of hybrid technology patents shows Asia in the lead

Recent research by intellectual property management consultancy CPA into patenting trends in hybrid powertrain technology shows that Asia is leading the way; over the past five years, Asia Pacific companies have been driving innovation though European companies are now increasing investment, particularly so European manufacturers who sell into the USA – as with BMW’s joint R&D programme with GM and DaimlerChrysler.

US companies themselves are also now challenging Asia Pacific’s market dominance, with Ford and Visteon investing in hybrid R&D.

Christian Bunke, IP consultant at CPA, says: “We found several examples of cross-company collaboration to get hybrid products to market and yet, while there is a strong growth in the industry, our research also indicates a lack of specialised components.”

CPA’s patent analysis showed the world’s top ten most active companies in hybrid technology development, as measured by their number of patent ‘families’ registered since 1991, puts Toyota at the top with 641 patents, followed by Nissan with 477 and Honda registering 319 patent groupings.

The Scuderi Group has taken many precautions to ensure the strength, scope, validity and ability to license its intellectual property.

Its patent portfolio provides protection for the Scuderi Split-Cycle Engine technology worldwide for at least the next 20 years. The Scuderi Group patent portfolio currently consists of:

Seven issued U.S. patents,
Five U.S. patents pending
Five international patents pending, in over 45 countries.
Representing over 100 individual claims