White Paper on Protecting the Consumer Patent Law Right of Repair and the Aftermarket for Exterior Motor Vehicle Repair Parts: The Parts Act, S. 812; H.R. 1879, 115th Congress

Abstract

Legislation is needed to protect the patent law consumer repair right for exterior, non-structural, non-safety-related exterior collision repairs for motor vehicles. This White Paper: explains the history and theory of design patents on parts and fragments of parts; discusses how such patents adversely affect the historic patent law consumer repair right (that is based in exhaustion doctrine); and describes how the PARTS Act would provide a narrow solution to the problem caused by such patents without diminishing design incentives.

Keywords: patent, design, repair, reconstruction, exhaustion, PARTS Act, motor vehicles, subject matter, article of manufacture, machine, infringement

JEL Classification: K2, K21, K11, K20, N00, O30, O31, O34, P36, P46