Makers of ABS equipment are signing licensing agreements with the inventor of a required electronic circuitry, signaling the end of an impasse that threatened to shut down production of tractors and trailers.

The fees will be far less than the inventor initially demanded, but much more than manufacturers claimed the technology was worth.
The circuitry allows trailer ABS to send a malfunction signal to a tractor's cab, illuminating a warning light required by federal regulations starting March 1. A stockpile of electronic chips with the "light the light" circuitry allowed production to continue past the deadline while negotiations went on.
Meritor-Wabco, the dominant manufacturer of anti-lock braking systems, has agreed to fees demanded by Al Lesesky and his company, Vehicle Enhancement Systems Inc., which developed the circuitry. Two other ABS makers previously signed agreements and others are in the process of doing so, according to an announcement last week by the PLC4Trucks consortium.
And Intellon Corp., the sole maker of the electronic chip that uses the circuitry, is settling its differences with VES, the announcement said. Intellon has agreed to collect the licensing fees and pass them on to VES, and VES is dropping a related suit against Intellon.
Intellon's "P-485" chip is installed in the ABS control modules that go on trailers and tractors, which then communicate through existing wiring via multiplexed, or powerline carrier, signals. This avoids use of a separate trailer-to-tractor connector cable, which truck fleets vehemently opposed.
The licensing flap began late last year, but its genesis goes back several years when the PLC4Trucks consortium, composed of manufacturers, fleets and associations, adopted the P-485 chip. Members thought it was a generic design not subject to licensing fees. But Lesesky said he had warned consortium members that he had applied for a patent, and when it came through on Oct. 3, began demanding licensing agreements.
Manufacturers balked at his initial demand of $5 per use, or $10 per tractor-trailer, claiming it was worth only 10 cents. Lesesky ultimately dropped the fee amount to $1.50, which Meritor-Wabco and others are agreeing to. Negotiations did not get serious until February, when the March 1 deadline loomed, Lesesky has said.
Eaton Corp. was the first to sign, in February, Lesesky reported. But an agreement with Meritor-Wabco, which reportedly has more than half of all ABS business, was considered necessary to settle the impasse. This came in mid March.
Meanwhile, builders of tractors and trailers were able to keep producing vehicles because ABS makers had a surplus of equipment with pre-patent chips. The surplus developed as truck orders plunged since last summer, when manufacturers, thinking the boom might go on, had stockpiled chips.
The ensuing bust in truck building ironically delayed a crisis that could have occurred on March 1. And now, with the agreements, the crisis appears permanently defused.