The seatbelt patent was given away

Swedish inventor Nils Bohlin came up with the three-point seat belt which secures your waist and chest with a stretching belt mechanism that pulls out just as much slack as the passenger needs.

The two-point seat belt, which went across your lap, was imperfect, especially in independently adjustable seats and was known to cause internal injuries during car crashes.

Bohlin was granted a patent in 1962, but it soon became clear that the patent would be more useful as an official standard mandated at a regulatory level.