Interim Approval for RRFBs suspended

[Pink Jazz]

http://www.kittelson.com/RRFB

Apparently there is a patent fight going on that has caused the suspension.  The MUTCD does not allow specific devices to be patented.

If the MUTCD does not allow specific devices to be patented, how did the MUTCD for many years allow the 3M Programmable Visibility signals, which were patented until the late 1980s/early 1990s?  Of course, this is just a specific type of traffic signal, while RRFBs are a more unique device.

[spooky]

Thread title is misleading. The interim approval has not been suspended, but they are suspending new approvals for agencies/communities which have not previously been granted approval to use the device.

[Pink Jazz]

Thread title is misleading. The interim approval has not been suspended, but they are suspending new approvals for agencies/communities which have not previously been granted approval to use the device.

That is why I used the term "suspended", not "rescinded".  This is similar to when the FHWA announced that it would no longer be seeking new approvals for Clearview after the Grays Harbor announcement.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out.  If the patents are invalidated, this will clear the way for its inclusion into the MUTCD.  However, if the DOJ rules in favor of RRFB Global (the inventors of the device), the interim approval may be at risk of being rescinded, thus RRFB Global may have to look to sell their device outside the United States (it is already approved in the 2014 edition of the Canadian MUTCD).

[freebrickproductions]

Seems Huntsville just recently got approval to use them, likely just before the new ones were suspended.

[Scott5114]

So which state's legislator is going to pitch a fit and introduce a bill to mandate them?

[Pink Jazz]

So which state's legislator is going to pitch a fit and introduce a bill to mandate them?

Of course, they would first have to eliminate the FHWA's ban on the inclusion of patented devices in the MUTCD, which is what the dispute is about.