The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued more patents to Toyota workers in 2012 than to any other automaker, according to a survey by the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO). Toyota companies received 30% more patents in 2012 than the previous year. The 1,491 patents issued to Toyota companies demonstrates the intellectual property rights that the U.S routinely grants offshore companies, rights saw critics that often do not exist in the countries trading with the U.S.
The Toyota Technical Center, located in Ann Arbor and Saline, Michigan, recently held their annual patent awards ceremony to honor last year’s patent recipients. Two team members each received their 20th patent in 2012, Minjuan Zhang, manager, Toyota Research Institute NA (TRINA) and Charan Lota, manager, electronic systems at Toyota Technical Center (TTC). Toyota did not say what the patents were for or their potential commercial applications.
