SawStop offers patent as CPSC considers rule

At the end of February, SawStop offered to dedicate its U.S. patent, No. 9,724,840, to the public if a proposed rule requiring safety technology on all table saws becomes effective.

“As the pioneer in safety technology for table saws, SawStop believes such a standard will radically improve the overall safety of all table saws sold in the United States. It will help prevent the tens of thousands of severe injuries annually that result in billions of dollars in corresponding healthcare, pain, and suffering costs for victims and society,” the company said in its announcement.

On Nov. 1, 2023, the Consumer Product Safety Commission published a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking on table saws, which requires an active injury mitigation system, such as held in the SawStop patent.

The Power Tool Institute, which has five table saw manufacturers in its group of nine member companies, opposes the rule and notes in its fact sheet that “if the Commission were to require SawStop technology on table saws, there can be no assurance that SawStop would willingly license technology on reasonable terms. In fact, if the government effectively requires use of the SawStop technology, SawStop could demand any license terms it wants or not grant any license at all.”

“Opponents of the proposed rulemaking have identified this patent as their key obstacle to offering safer saws,” countered Matt Howard, CEO of SawStop. “We invest heavily in safety innovation, and our patents have real value. Even so, we will not allow this patent to be an obstacle to a safer future. To that end, SawStop is prepared to dedicate this ‘840 patent to the public upon the effective date of a rule requiring active injury mitigation technology on all table saws. Although such a rule is likely many years away from an effective date, we at SawStop are determined to seek a win-win balance between our mission and our business responsibilities.”

This is a developing story that we’ll continue to follow. But it should be noted that SawStop is not the only safety device on the market.

Felder offers the Preventive Contact System (PCS), which was recently added to the K 945 S sliding table saw. The PCS recognizes human tissue in the ‘danger zone’ and triggers before contact with the saw blade. The Hand Guard from the Altendorf Group uses two cameras and drops the blade when a hand gets too close. It is currently offered on four models. The SCM Group has introduced Blade Off, a predictive system that uses sensors to identify and recognize the human body.

This article was originally published in the April 2024 issue.