The U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and the Internet has scheduled a hearing on H.R. 1057, the “Promoting Automotive Repair, Trade, and Sales Act” commonly referred to as the PARTS Act. The hearing in Washington, D.C. is scheduled for February 2 at 2 p.m. in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
The legislation seeks to create an exception from design patent infringement for automotive collision repair parts.
According to the Quality Parts Coalition (QPC) that supports the legislation, vehicle manufacturers have secured nearly a thousand U.S. design patents on individual cosmetic collision repair parts such as