MEPs backed a Commission proposal that would end design protection for spare car parts and other machinery components, giving consumers more choice about who to buy the spare part from.
In the first reading of a report prepared by design rapporteur Klaus-Heiner Lehne MEP, the European Parliament agreed to open up to competition the secondary market in spare parts that are intended to restore the original appearance of products such as cars and industrial machines.
If adopted, the directive will allow suppliers to produce car components that are identical to the original parts without infringing design protection.
At the moment, rules on design protection for spare parts differ from one EU member state to another.
For example, the Commission says that 15 countries – Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden – still have design protection for spare parts.
In Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, spare parts for repair or replacement are allowed in the after-sales market. Greece protects designs for five years.
The draft directive would still provide design protection for spare parts that are bought for decorative reasons, such as those that change the original appearance of the car or machine. Nor will the proposed directive affect invisible parts of the machine, such as a car’s electric generator or water pump. These were never protected under Europe’s design regime.
Speaking in the European Parliament’s debate on Tuesday, UK MEP Malcolm Harbour explained why a number of EU member states had removed design protection for spare parts some time ago: "In a number of countries, particularly in the United Kingdom, where this movement started, it was quite clear to the Monopolies Commission at the time that the car manufacturers were abusing that monopoly, and that is why it was removed. Now, that does not in any way undermine the importance of intellectual property protection. I just want to make that clear to a number of colleagues who have made that point."
"I think this is a historic day, as we are finally going to deal with this vexed question and this anomaly in the internal market," he said.
But MEPs also voted to amend the Commission’s proposal to grant member states a five-year transition period before they have to implement full liberalization.
The decision by the European Parliament to back plans to liberalize the spare parts market was welcomed by a group of auto part manufacturers in the US.
"I commend the decision in the European Union to protect and promote competition in the replacement automotive parts market in the EU," said Eileen Sottile, executive director of the Quality Parts Coalition (QPC).
"As we work to incorporate a ‘repair clause’ in the US design patent law, we strive to join the EU and the long list of countries that have already voted to promote competition – the foundation of US business – in the replacement collision parts industry."
