New York  |  Technology Law

Hello. I think that any device that can alleviate the current dangers of a texting culture on the road is a good thing. That being said, to my knowledge approximately 14 states have laws regarding texting while driving. In addition, there is proposed federal legislation aimed at cutting federal highway funding for states that do not implement such a law within the near future. Moreover, the actual language of each of those states would have to be scrutinized to see if it might be broad enough to ensnare an alternative texting device such as yours.

As you mentioned, the issue is the “letter of the law. “ For example, the MD senate version of its texting statute appears to ban the use of any “texting device”, which is defined as:

“ A HAND HELD DEVICE USED TO SEND A TEXT MESSAGE OR AN ELECTRONIC MESSAGE VIA A SHORT MESSAGE SERVICE, WIRELESS TELEPHONE SERVICE, OR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION NETWORK.”

In that instance your device may escape its ambit, if it is truly “hands free” as you say. And similar analysis of the remaining statutes would have to be made (although review of legislative committee notes and history, in addition to any case law (though likely minimal) to determine how the definitions are interpreted will likely be necessary for thoroughness.)

My firm has experience in researching federal and state legislative patchworks to determine if a venture or a product is on solid footing. And our firm has experienced patent of counsel who can assist you with the patent dimension of the process. Feel free to contact us, if you would like to discuss the issue further and good luck with your product.