Automated Vehicles and Intellectual Property – Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Project Abstract
The volume of patent litigation in a given field of technology depends, at least to some degree, on the number of patent filings and the rate (and timing) of their issuance. Because patent litigation typically commences years after the issuance of the underlying patent, the number of patents filed in a given year may provide some insight into the expected volume of patent litigation. There has, however, been little, if any, research into the overall correlation between the volume and timing of patent filings and the volume of patent litigation.
Against this backdrop, we evaluate the number of patent filings in two different technology areas over a similar time period. In particular, we looked at smartphones and the oil and gas from 2000 through 2016, in an effort to assess the correlation between patent filing and litigation.
Project Outcome
For this paper, we studied trends in the automated vehicle industry in three areas of intellectual property. Part I covers patent filings and patent litigation. Part II covers technology transactions (i.e., agreements that involve the development, licensing and supply of technology, products, services and intellectual property rights.)