Connected cars patent disputes carry echoes of battles past

Duration: 17:34

As cars integrate ever more technology, a legal fight is brewing over whether the holders of connectivity-related patents should offer licenses to the makers of the relevant car parts, or of the cars as a whole. With parallels to the “smartphone wars” of the past decade, this new front will strain the complex relationships between carmakers and their suppliers and pit industrial giants such as Daimler and Nokia against each other. It will also test the limits of antitrust law, with patent holders being accused of withholding licenses.