Carmakers to lose design protection for spare parts

The Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee has backed a proposal that seeks to end carmakers’ exclusive right to sell visible spare parts such as bumpers, bonnets and headlights in a move aimed at bringing down prices in the repair market.

MEPs in the Committee backed the proposed new directive unanimously on Tuesday (20 November). It will now be submitted to the full House for approval in December. 

In most EU member states, visible car parts such as body panels, bumpers and lights are protected by design and copyright laws and can only be sold by the car manufacturers.

Only eight member states have opened up the spare parts market, according to the Commission. They include Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. In Greece, designs are protected for a period of five years.

The proposal faced stiff opposition from carmakers, who argued it would lead to job losses in a market valued at 10 billion euro a year. They also warned the proposal would lead to lower safety standards.

For the Commission, which put the proposal forward in September 2004, the aim was to bring down costs in a market where it considered competition was insufficient. “This is a typical case where narrow interests, a handful of big car makers with huge resources, try to undermine the general interest of the car owners,” said Frits Bolkestein, then internal market commissioner (EURACTIV 16/09/04).

As a compromise, MEPs voted for a five year transitional period before full liberalisation of the market takes effect. And manufacturers would retain design protection for spare parts purchased for decorative reasons. The Legal Affairs Committee also voted for an amendment that requires consumers to be informed of the origin of the components so that they can make an informed choice.

ECAR, a campaign group representing consumer organisations, vehicle parts producers, distributors and independent repairers, welcomed the vote, saying it strikes “a fair balance between intellectual property protection and the need for competition” in the aftermarket for vehicle repair.

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