International companies had been researching lithium-sulfur batteries for a long time.
To put it in perspective, if humans needed to solve 10 technical problems to "unlock" lithium-sulfur batteries, these 10 technical problems could be divided into 10 patents each for a total of 100 patents. International research institutes had already obtained 30-40 of these patents.
Under the WTO regulation, a company could not set up barriers with their patents, otherwise, it would put other companies at a disadvantage.
For example, Qualcomm had completely dominated the silicon processor field. If they forced one to release one's patents under the WTO law, one couldn't do anything but to oblige.
The industry was based on the fact that both parties had equal access to resources; if the access wasn't equal, then there would be no competition, and a monopoly could form.
