Toyota has finally settled the lawsuit made by Paice LLC, which had a patent infringement case going for six years. The agreement was announced just before the hearing was set to begin in front of the US International Trade Commission.
The agreement says that "Toyota invented, designed and developed the Prius and Toyota's hybrid technology independent of any inventions of Dr. Severinsky and Paice as part of Toyota's long history of innovation."
But according to the news article, Toyota has agreed to license all 23 of Paice's patents.
Toyota had already lost the case, and could not argue in court they weren't impinging on the patent. So, a settlement on their part is no real surprise.
“After six years of litigation, we are pleased to reach a settlement with Toyota,” said Frances Keenan, chairman of the Paice board of directors in a statement. “Toyota has been a leader in the hybrid industry – selling more hybrid vehicles than anyone in the world – and we appreciate and applaud their achievements.”
Paice has already settled with Ford, but that lawsuit was less visible.
If things had gone really badly in court, Toyota may have been forced to stop importing all of their hybrids.
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