The electric vehicle: Patent data as indicators of technological development

摘要

This paper reports a study into the use of US patents to analyse responses to regulatory change in the automobile industry. Confirming that patents are a rich indicator of technological development, it focuses on the development of the electric vehicle (EV) And, in particular, the identification of networks of firms developing EVs. A key finding of the study is the way that car firms have Formed links with competitors and with firms and inventors outside the automobile industry, in order to develop this technology.