In our prior article, we discussed instances in which the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the district courts made different findings with regard to patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. A recent...more
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expected to impact almost every modern industry, with no exception for the automotive and transportation industries. Today’s cars are more “connected” than ever, offering features such as...more
12/18/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Automotive Industry ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Driverless Cars ,
Executive Orders ,
Machine Learning ,
NHTSA ,
OEM ,
Personal Information ,
Request For Information ,
Shareholders ,
Transportation Industry
The Mayo/Alice framework for determining subject matter eligibility of patents under 35 U.S.C. §101 has long since antagonized both patent prosecutors and litigators alike, causing significant uncertainty in the realm of...more
The modern semiconductor industry was born in the 1950s in the United States, and the United States remained the indisputable industry leader for the first few decades of its development. But over the last few decades, the...more
On July 2, 2024 the California State Assembly Judiciary Committee passed SB-1047 (Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act), following its passage by the Senate on May 21, 2024. The bill aims...more
All the signs point to an impending perfect storm in the automotive industry and the impact on innovation will be great. We have seen technological revolutions before; a new technology more than just disrupts, it can change a...more
The 1908 Model T was one of the first cars accessible to the masses. Car ownership continued to grow to the point where cars became a staple, so much so that by the 21st century, there were more vehicles in the United States...more
Automakers continue to face similar challenges that software and electronics companies are familiar with, such as being targeted by non-producing entities (NPEs) as discussed in a previous post. While software and electronics...more
Automakers, high-tech software companies, and electronics companies are increasingly facing similar challenges as vehicles become computers on wheels. For example, the global chip shortage is delaying the production of...more
From 2016 to 2020, Apple bought the most AI companies. Of the AI companies Apple acquired during this time, the following appear to provide technology (e.g., vehicular technology, visual or image processing, or facial...more
Like many industries, the pandemic has impacted the automotive industry, including electric and autonomous vehicle (E/AV) research and development. E/AV companies have laid off workers, delayed testing, and postponed the...more
One year ago, the automotive industry was swiftly and seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This disruption, in addition to the new administration, continues to present a variety of fresh issues.
Foley’s...more
3/10/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Automotive Industry ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Mexico ,
NHTSA ,
Patents ,
Safety Standards ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Wars ,
U.S. Customs ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Vaccinations ,
Vertical Mergers
As Electric / Autonomous Vehicle (E/AV) technologies continue to gain traction, E/AV companies are increasingly vying for funding in order to accelerate the rate of innovation. To stand-out amongst their peers and attract...more
No industry has been immune to the pandemic, and it has certainly had a significant impact on Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Research and Development. AV companies have laid-off workers, delayed testing, and postponed the launch of...more
Obtaining patent protection on a global scale can be costly. As each country is a sovereign jurisdiction, they have their own Patent Office, requiring a patent application to be filed and examined in the respective Patent...more
...The Impact of Emerging Technologies on Global Automotive Supply Chains -
The intense focus on autonomous vehicles and electrification we see today shows no signs of slowing down: in the new automotive industry, every...more
2/13/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Automotive Industry ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Data Privacy ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
NHTSA ,
Supply Chain ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
The following table lists the top 25 well-funded autonomous vehicle companies according to CrunchBase. Based on a search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s publicly available information, the top 25 autonomous vehicle...more
Automakers do not want a patent war to break out, and some have even gone to great lengths to employ creative strategies that leverage large patent portfolios without asserting them in litigation. That said, high tech...more
Powering the future is now! Electric vehicles (EVs) and self-driving cars (AVs) are two of the most innovative technologies in the history of the automotive industry....more
12/12/2019
/ Automated Systems ,
Automotive Industry ,
Batteries ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Charging Stations ,
Connected Cars ,
Driverless Cars ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Emissions Trading System ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Grants ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Popular ,
Rebates ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Tax Credits ,
Technology ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
Everyone will benefit from self-driving cars, but to varying degrees. Society, from a safety standpoint, benefits from eliminating some or all of the 34,247 motor vehicle fatalities per year. The elderly and disabled can...more
While the automotive industry as a whole may be experiencing stagnant or declining growth, a new wave of collaboration has washed over the automotive industry in the first half of 2019. Companies are opting towards working...more
The pace of innovation in the electric, autonomous, and connected vehicle space is staggering. These innovations relate to advanced sensors, radar and LiDAR, geolocation, artificial intelligence algorithms,...more
7/9/2019
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Appeals ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automotive Industry ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Congressional Committees ,
Driverless Cars ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Software ,
Trade Secrets
There are countless innovations being made for autonomous vehicle components, including for advanced sensors, radar and LiDAR, geolocation, and telecommunications. The automotive industry filed 25k+ patents in 2018 to protect...more
6/28/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automotive Industry ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
New Guidance ,
Patent Reform ,
Patents ,
Software ,
Technology ,
USPTO
Welcome to Foley’s Automotive MarketTrends newsletter. In each edition, we will focus on a different aspect of the automotive sector and highlight key trends in the industry. In this issue, we focus on collaboration and the...more
6/27/2019
/ Automotive Industry ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Data Collection ,
Data-Sharing ,
Drivers ,
Innovation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Technology Sector ,
Transportation Industry
While traditional automakers may be keen to avoid patent wars, as discussed in a previous blog post A Patent War Without Fighting, high tech companies developing innovative connected or autonomous vehicle technologies may not...more