"Sean is not the stereotypical cop who is kind of intimidating, but rather a friendly and down-to-earth kind of guy that you would want to be friends with, " David Hou, an MIT sophomore, told CNN.

CNN: Slain MIT cop: 'He was born to be a police officer'

One big debate among the Japanese companies is what kind of eco-friendly technology to use.

NPR: Nissan's Pivo Car Monitors Driver Mood

The 29-year-old mayor described his village as close-knit and friendly, "the kind of place where you'd say, 'oh, it would never happen here'".

BBC: NY manhunt after four shot dead

Marwa herself looks a little wistful when you ask her about those trips to Germany and to the US - everyone was very kind and very friendly, she remembers.

BBC: Marwa's story: 10 years since the bomb fell

Eric Park, of Ziba, a design consultancy, reckons companies must also think about drug delivery systems and patient-friendly packaging, which could create a new kind of branded intellectual property that might be more defensible than drug patents.

ECONOMIST: Pharmaceuticals

Ultimately, the SVSC will persist as long as it attracts the kind of smart, talented, friendly, not-arrogant people that Max believes were so helpful to his start-up journey.

FORBES: Yelp Chair Max Levchin's Trek from Kiev to San Francisco

And depending on what kind of fuel powers that grid ultimately decides how environmentally-friendly the car actually is.

CNN: All About: Greener driving

Experts tell me the landscape is shifting in patent law, with the American courts less friendly to this kind of tactic while in Europe it has become slightly easier to patent computer-based innovations.

BBC: Are patents good for you?