Title: Road safety and patents: a study for sustainable development

Authors: Soumya Prakash Patra

Addresses: Institute of Management Bodh Gaya, 824234, India

Abstract: Cross-functional application of legal principles in technology is rare but necessary. Technologies now have cross-functional roles in various research areas. For instance, in the automotive field, efforts to develop safer technologies by integrating learnings from embedded systems, IoT, etc. are ongoing. Balancing public interest in making technologies affordable and commercial interests of innovators is necessary when implementing such inventions in big markets. In this regard, legal jurisprudence and technological learnings from the management of telecom patents by SSOs under FRAND can be followed in other areas such as automotive safety systems. This article proposes a sui-generis model for regulating standard essential patents (SEPs) in the automotive domain and explores legal reasoning for legislation that balances private and public interests in developing economies like India.

Keywords: standard essential patent; SEP; patents; automotive standards; antilock brake systems; ABS; combined brake systems; CBS; standardisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIPM.2025.150048

International Journal of Intellectual Property Management, 2025 Vol.15 No.5, pp.487 - 507

Received: 12 Oct 2022
Accepted: 17 Apr 2023
Published online: 28 Nov 2025 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article