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The U.S. government may finally mandate safer table saws (www.npr.org)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

That's bullshit. They need to expire Sawstop's patents and give other manufacturers a couple years to duplicate that tech if they are going to require all table saws to include what is currently proprietary technology.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

They literally agreed to open the patent if the safety rule goes into effect.

However, one key patent — the "840" patent — is not set to expire until 2033. To stave off potential competitors, it describes the AIM technology very broadly. In a surprise move at February's CPSC hearing, TTS Tooltechnic Systems North America CEO Matt Howard announced that the company would "dedicate the 840 patent to the public" if a new safety standard were adopted. Howard says that this would free up rivals to pursue their own safety devices or simply copy SawStop's. At the hearing, he challenged them "to get in the game."

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nice. That's halfway there!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

We dont need the second half.

The vendor said they can copy the mechanism outright. If the "name brands" start prototyping now, they should be able to have working models ready to go when the change is made.