SocraticGadfly: That Prius may get a bit more expensive

May 12, 2008

That Prius may get a bit more expensive

The Supreme Court upheld a $4.3 million patent infringement judgment against Toyota today. An appeals court had kept that ruling intact, but overturned the original trial court ruling that Toyota should pay $25 per vehicle to patent holder Paice LLC of McLean, Va.

The infringed patent was for a microprocessor that accepts torque information from both the gasoline engine and electric motor that make up the hybrid drive on Prius and other Toyota gas-electric hybrids.

Toyota got luckier last week, winning another patent infringement suit against it, and also over hybrid transmission technology.

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