Patent Family Tree: Decoding Complex Patent Relationships
Visual Patent Intelligence
The assessment of sophisticated technologies such as dry electrode films, and their patent coverage, demands careful examination of interconnected patents and applications across various legal jurisdictions.
The new Patent Family Tree feature in LexisNexis® PatentSight+™ leverages advanced visualization capabilities to provide a clear, hierarchical view of patent families, allowing IP professionals to quickly understand priority claims, filing patterns, and global protection strategies. In this blog, we analyze Tesla’s strategic approach to dry electrode technology patents, using the Patent Family Tree to reveal crucial insights about their international IP protection and R&D progression.
Introducing Patent Family Tree: A new dimension in patent analysis
The Patent Family Tree is a new feature in PatentSight+™ that provides a clear and intuitive representation of the hierarchical and chronological structure of a patent family. A visual tree illustrates the relationships between various applications, publications, and granted patents within a family. This tree effectively conveys crucial information such as priority dates, filing and publication dates, legal status and the priority claim connections between individual family members.
Instead of parsing through traditional list-based views, users can now:
- Quick Assessment of Family Priorities: Identify the earliest application in a priority chain.
- International Filing Strategy: Track the chronological progression from initial filing through the international system (PCT) to subsequent national phase entries and regional phase entries (such as EP applications), showing both direct national filings and international routes.
- Different Filing Types: Understand the developmental history within a patent family, including provisional, divisional, and continuation filings.
Tesla’s patent strategy revealed through Patent Family Tree
Tesla has consistently pushed the boundaries of battery technology to make electric vehicles (EVs) more efficient, sustainable, and affordable. Using the PatentSight+ new Patent Family Tree feature, we analyze Tesla’s patent family EP3776696.A1 to uncover their strategic approach to dry electrode technology—a critical innovation in battery development. Through this visual analysis, we reveal Tesla’s global protection strategy, R&D progression, and strategic use of patent filings across key markets. Let’s explore how Patent Family Tree transforms our understanding of Tesla’s patent strategy.
Patent Family Tree vs traditional patent analysis tools
Assessing the patent family of EP3776696.A1 the traditional way is significantly more labor-intensive. Tools like Espacenet, for instance, provide a list of patent family members. This listed overview often misses essential information about legal status, filing dates, priority claims, and the relationships between filings. As a result, understanding the progression and legal landscape of each patent becomes cumbersome, requiring extensive manual cross-referencing.
In contrast, the PatentSight+ Patent Family Tree of EP3776696.A1 delivers a holistic and instantly accessible view of family relationships, timelines, and statuses, thereby reducing the need for time-consuming manual analyses.
Figure 1: Patent Family Tree Visualization of Tesla’s EP3776696.A1
Tesla’s provisional filing strategy
Tesla’s patent family of EP3776696.A1 for dry electrode technology originates from a U.S. provisional application filed on March 30, 2018 (US201862650903.P a.k.a. 62/650,903). This initial filing acts as a foundation, setting the priority date for subsequent patent applications across different jurisdictions. In the U.S. patent system, provisional applications do not mature into issued patents themselves but serve as a placeholder, securing an early filing date and giving applicants up to a year to refine their invention before filing a formal, non-provisional application. For Tesla, this early priority date allowed them to build upon and expand the claims through later applications across multiple countries.
Key jurisdictions, legal status and timeline
Further, the Patent Family Tree highlights that Tesla filed a series of non-provisional applications in various authorities, including the U.S. on March 27, 2019, and on March 28, 2019, in China, Europe, Japan, and South Korea, all claiming priority from this original U.S. provisional. This strategic progression proves how Tesla leveraged the provisional application to secure a “first-to-file” advantage globally.
- United States & WIPO (PCT): The first non-provisional application on March 27, 2019, resulted in a granted patent US11545666.B2 on January 1, 2023, securing Tesla’s technology within the American market. Application US2019024538.W was used for WIPO (PCT) publication WO2019191397.A1.
- China, Europe, Japan, and South Korea: The initial WIPO (PCT) filing progressed to patent applications in China (CN), Japan (JP), and South Korea (KR) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) as National Phase Entry. And in Europe (EP) as Regional Phase Entry. All with the same filing date March 28, 2019. In China and Japan this resulted in grants in 2024. The legal status in Europe and South Korea is “Pending”. Which means the patent publications are not granted yet.
Figure 2: Filing and Grant Status Across Key Markets for Tesla’s Dry Electrode Patents
Tesla’s proactive global IP strategy ensures core innovation is shielded from competitors across key EV markets.
Leveraging divisional and continuation applications
The Patent Family Tree of EP3776696.A1 uncovers the company’s sophisticated IP strategy, with divisional and continuation applications employed to expand and strengthen its patent scope:
- Divisional Applications: For instance, JP2023211890.A in Japan and CN202410048447.A in China are divisional filings of earlier applications in their respective jurisdictions. By filing divisional applications, Tesla isolates specific aspects of the technology, which enables the company to refine claims around distinct innovations within the original patent.
- Continuation Applications in the U.S.: Application US202318495106.A is a continuation filing that allows Tesla to claim additional aspects of the invention while maintaining the original priority date. Continuation applications are essential in the U.S. system as they allow Tesla to adjust its claims in response to evolving technologies or competitor filings.
Figure 3: Patent Family Tree: Tesla’s Divisional and Continuation Applications Network
This approach effectively strengthens Tesla’s IP strategy by creating a broader network of protections around the dry electrode film technology, deterring potential infringement attempts by other EV and battery manufacturers.
Competitive intelligence: Tesla vs. BYD approach
The Patent Family Tree in PatentSight+ reveals fascinating strategic contrasts between two EV giants competing in advanced battery technology. Despite both companies innovating in energy storage—specifically around electrode compositions and cell configurations for lithium-ion batteries—their patent filing approaches show distinct market priorities.
Tesla’s EP3776696.A1 family began with a U.S. provisional filing and follows a parallel filing approach—multiple applications filed simultaneously across jurisdictions, aiming for quick, broad coverage. This pattern, immediately visible in the patent family tree structure, demonstrates Tesla’s strategy for rapid global market protection. In contrast, BYD’s EP4087000.A1 family, covering battery cell structure innovations, exposes a different strategic choice: a carefully orchestrated layered progression. Beginning with filings in China, BYD expands and then expanding internationally, including Europe, Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. The BYD family tree reveals a series of divisional filings within China, strengthening protections for specific technological aspects by breaking out individual claims. Notably, the tree structure highlights BYD’s intensive use of divisional filings within China, reflecting a deep domestic market focus while building global protection.
Figure 4: Patent Family Tree Visualization of BYD’s EP4087000.A1
Transform patent data into clear insights
The Patent Family Tree in PatentSight+ revolutionizes how you analyze patent families, turning complex analysis into clear, actionable insights. Using this intuitive visualization, IP professionals can:
- Instantly decode filing strategies and market priorities
- Track global protection patterns across key jurisdictions
- Validate priority claims and family relationships at a glance
- Accelerate competitive analysis through clear visual comparison
- Strengthen prosecution and litigation strategies with comprehensive patent family insights
Ready to see how Patent Family Tree can enhance your patent analysis? Contact us for a personalized demo of PatentSight+ and discover how this powerful tool can transform your approach to IP intelligence.
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