How do car seat patents work?

Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Does anyone know how long patents last on car seat features?

I have always wondered why car seat manufacturers don't just copy each other. If Cybex's Linear Side Impact protection is so awesome, why doesn't everyone add a flap of plastic to their seats? If Air Protect is really better than EPS foam, why isn't it lining the headwings of every seat? If SuperCinch and SureLatch and ClickTight all make installation so foolproof, why does anyone make seats without these innovations?

I've assumed that these features are patented and that's why you don't see them applied universally. But are they? If so, does that mean that Cybex's patent on LSP has expired? Because the bolsters on the new Turbobooster look an awful lot like the LSP on the Solution Q-Fix...


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AllieK

New member
I think design patents have a 14 year life, but require periodic maintenance fees to hold it, IIRC.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Patents take much longer to expire. If a feature seems ripped off the patent holder has the right to sue, and the accused has to prove that their product is substantially different, with changes that constitute an original product.

You do occasionally see lawsuits about this, such as the big stroller infringement lawsuit where another company (Britax?) was issued a judgement for ripping off Baby Jogger's fold.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Yes, these features are all likely patented, and sometimes when a feature suddenly changes it's because of a patent dispute.

Manufacturers are sometimes able to "borrow" features by making them different enough that they're not the same. (Not just in the car seat world, but with anything.)
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
A lot of features may make an observable difference in a crash test, but few if any studies exist to show any actual reduction in serious injury or fatalities. Even top tethering doesn't have a particularly large base of statistics to prove a significant benefit, for example.

Some features are just marketing, and likely provide little or no benefit over a carseat without them. I have my theories, but it would be based on no more data than is available to the public to prove they are worthwhile;-)

You would hope that if some feature or design was *really* effective, the patent holder would at least license it for a reasonable amount.
 

MUTigers

New member
Each of those features is most definitely patented, either as an individual feature or an entire seat. You can look them up on the US PTOs website if you're good enough at searching (searching "clicktight" likely won't get you anywhere, you have to know the technical name usually).

Like a pp said the patents last for a certain period of time, sometimes up to 20 years with maintenance payments at certain times. What most people don't realize is the time starts when the application is filed, so by the time you see a feature on the shelf the patent might be 10+ years old. You don't see clicktight installation on every seat because its patented and by the time the patent expires there will likely be something better.

The features you see on lots of seats are probably patented by a third party (not britax or graco, etc) but someone else who then sells the technology to the car seat company.


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Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Cool. Thank you all for the info. So do you think Graco could be sued by Cybex? Or is their true shield (did I get the name right?) different enough from the LSP? I suppose it is also kind of similar to the external bolsters on the Britax Advocate seats too...


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MUTigers

New member
It's possible they could be sued but more possible the patent is held by a third party or the features are different enough to not infringe. It all depends on how the patents are written.

If you looked at the patent I linked to you can see that patents are a very complicated area of the law. To call you're self a patent attorney you have to pass a timed test over a book a couple of thousand pages long (on top of law school). You also need to hold a degree in a specialized field. It's years of work and it's tough.

None of this is specialized to car seat patents, it's universal to them all. There are different types of patents, but for your purposes they are all basically the same.


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Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Yeah, when I looked at the patent that you linked it was hard to even figure out what it was for! (The EZ buckle pad?)


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MUTigers

New member
Haha! Yes, they can be very difficult to understand. I don't know what britax calls it but it's for the buckle pad that stands up on its own so it doesn't fall under the child. We have it on our clicktight frontier.


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