BOULOGNE BILLANCOURT, France (July 18, 2013) — Group Michelin, seeking to accelerate the pace of deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID) of tires, is offering to license free of charge — with reciprocity — any of its patents relating to the adoption of industry standards.
Reliable RFID of tires with embedded technology has been shown it can improve tire tracking throughout the tire's life cycle, Michelin said.
Other tire makers have joined the effort to create and foster harmonized international standard, Michelin said, but to accelerate the deployment of the technology, the key element will be adopting a single worldwide standard.
Michelin therefore is offering to license any of its patents where this would help the process, under the reciprocity guidelines of "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" (FRAND) licensing policies.
The tire maker defines reciprocity in this case as "on condition that any prospective licensee commits to license any of its current or future patents that would also overlap with the adoption and execution of standards" related to the RFID question.
Terry Gettys, executive vice president for research and development at Michelin, said the use of its tire-embedded RFID system on buses used during last summer's Olympic Games in London showed improvements in safety and operational efficiency.
"We believe that the most important enabler to a broader integration of such technology within the transportation industry is the adoption of a global standard," he said. "This small step should help us get there."
