Interpretation ID: nht71-5.29

DATE: 12/22/71

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; L. R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Holophane Company, Inc.

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in response to your letter of December 13, 1971, in which you made further comments on the requirements of Standard No. 108 with respect to school bus lighting. You expressed concern over the fact that a company holds a patent relating to the wiring for eight-lamp systems that are permitted (though not required) under Standard No. 108.

Although the existence of patents is one factor that may be taken into account in setting motor vehicle safety standards, it is not the primary one. This agency is charged by Congress with the responsibility of setting standards that represent the best possible resolution of the problems of safety, cost, and technological feasibility. If two alternative regulatory courses of action are found to be substantially equal in other respects, the agency might prefer the one in which the largest number of companies were free to compete at will. But the granting of patents is a long-established policy of our government, administered by the U.S. Patent Office under the direction of Federal statutes and the Constitution. We do not, therefore, agree with your suggestion that it is "against public interest" to issue regulations that have the incidental effect of favoring or requiring the use of patented products.