Green technology patents dominate GM’s 2009 filings

More than half of the 1,300 patents filed by General Motors Co. (GM) in 2009 are green innovations, proof of the rapid development of groundbreaking technology by GM researchers and engineers. “The move toward electrification is requiring us to reinvent the DNA of the automobile, requiring massive amounts of innovation,” said Alan Taub, vice president of GM. A study of the patent activity of the top-15 global automakers released by Ocean Tomo, a merchant bank that specializes in intellectual property transactions, hailed GM’s leadership in the development of green technologies. “Green automotive technologies are the building blocks for creating and improving alternative power plants and increasing fuel efficiency,” said James Malackowski, chief executive officer of Ocean Tomo. (May 13, 2010)