KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 24): New patent awards are on the decline in the American automotive sector despite the industry pushing for technological innovations.

Detroit-based weekly Automotive News reported on Saturday (Jan 22) that the number of new US patent grants fell 7% in 2021.

Citing Fairview Research's IFI Claims Patent Services, a database that closely monitors the activity, the weekly said that while there was little change in which automotive companies ranked as the top five for receiving patents last year, all but one of them saw a decrease from 2020.

IFI chief executive officer Mike Baycroft said what caused the drop was unclear.

“One theory is that Covid-19 may have slowed down the pipeline, with companies and individuals interrupted in their work.

“But this would not explain why a similar drop did not occur in 2020, when the pandemic was causing even more workplace and project disruption.

"It is almost like the process itself has slowed down," said Baycroft, adding that it is either the US patent office not being able to process these applications and grants, or it is the applicants themselves not having the bandwidth to prosecute them.

“It could be either,” he said.

Meanwhile, Honda of America Manufacturing's former executive vice president John Adams said fewer new patents do not mean there is less innovation.

Adams, who is now an independent judge for the Automotive News PACE Awards program, said it is not uncommon in the auto industry for companies to wait to patent their technology when working on something large, keeping their cards close to their chest.

"Once you issue a patent, the whole world knows what you are doing.

"Most of the best companies I know that are developing new ideas tend to be somewhat a little late to the patent application,” he said.

Adams said the decline in patent awards also is not indicative of a lack of innovation in the electric vehicle space.

The report added that many of the 2021 patent grants were specifically related to the electric vehicle segment.

Toyota Motor North America was among companies that pursued and won several patents in that field.