Interpretation ID: nht90-4.85

TYPE: Interpretation-NHTSA

DATE: December 14, 1990

FROM: William J. Bethurum -- Patent Attorney

TO: Legal Counsel, U.S. National Highway Safety Commission

TITLE: None

ATTACHMT: Attached to letter dated 2-26-91 from Paul Jackson Rice to William J. Bethurum (A37; Std. 108)

TEXT:

My client, Mr. E. D. Farnsworth of Sweet, Idaho has asked me to write to you concerning the matter of when and how side lights adjacent to the main head lights came to be first used with head lights on automobiles. Mr. Farnsworth has made several new an d useful improvements in the field of automobile head lights and associated side lights, and he has recently filed a United States Patent application for one of his inventions in this field.

However, Mr. Farnsworth submitted one of his earlier ideas in this field to an invention promotion firm on the East Coast under an agreement of confidentiality, and Mr. Farnsworth feels that perhaps this agreement may have been breached in view of the ma ny new side light designs that he has recently seen in national magazines.

In the event we decide to approach prospective licensees about the licensing of our pending patent application, will you please advise us of what assistance your office can give us in the area of transportation regulations which may govern the applicatio n of new head lamp designs for automobiles or other motor driven vehicles.

Any information you may have in this regard will be most appreciated.