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Creating Green Jobs In Michigan From Auto Industry Patents |
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We've been keeping this under wraps for a while, but we've decided it's time to go public. Over the last several months we've been meeting with members of the Michigan and federal governments to emphasize the potential value of the wealth of intellectual property (IP, i.e. patents) held by Chrysler and General Motors. We strongly believe that the impending bankruptcies of both companies are putting at risk a wide variety of patents dealing with Green technologies like hybrid propulsion and clean fuels. These patents present an unparalleled resource for both the building of a new Green American economy and the rapid expansion of Green industry and employment in southeastern Michigan. They may also be a potential income source for the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association established by the auto unions in 2007, expanding their capacity to meet the retirement commitments they took over from the auto companies. We've summarized our arguments and our proposal in a brief document entitled Requiring Chrysler and GM to Use or Lose Exclusive Rights to their Green Intellectual Property for Benefit of Community Trust . The title's a mouthful, but if you care about the environment, American industrial competitiveness, auto worker retirement security, or rebuilding Michigan's industrial base, it's worth a read.
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