Jennifer Rankin-Byrne, PTO spokeswoman, says the introduction of H.R. 5638 by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., stimulated the meeting discussion. Lofgren's bill aims to make it much harder for U.S. auto companies to get design patents for ornamental car parts. The bill pushes back on a recent International Trade Court (ITC) decision allowing automakers to assert patents on ornamental and cosmetic exterior vehicle part features to prevent repair part manufacture or importation.
The United States Trade Representative office has let ITC's decision stand unchallenged. Yet even before the ruling, OEM parts were 35 percent to 100 percent more expensive than non-OEM secondary repair parts.
In the first of the two legislation-focused meetings, Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, Toyota and the Auto Alliance discussed Lofgren's bill and a complaint filed by Ford with ITC to block the import of Mustang replacement parts, alleging design patent infringement. The complaint says eight companies, most in Taiwan, are importing Mustang hood, fender, bumper, side-view mirror and taillamp parts using patented designs. Ford already has succeeded in blocking F-150 truck replacement parts.
But Lofgren, a senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee — where the bill has been referred, is pushing back against manufacturers, positioning the bill as a consumer method to reduce auto repair and insurance costs. Groups such as the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA) and Coalition for Auto Repair Equality (CARE), among other consumer and insurance industry groups, have pledged support.
Aaron Lowe, AAIA's vice president of government affairs, also spoke out against automakers during a June hearing at PTO's Alexandria, Va.-based offices. Even though car companies' cosmetic parts continually "fail to have any distinctive design" worthy of a patent, manufacturers "seemingly are receiving rubber stamp approval," he says.
Over the past five years, design patents encompass almost 25 percent of the total U.S. patents granted to automobile manufacturers, Lowe continues. "Further, crash parts account for anywhere between 50 to 93 percent of the U.S. design patents awarded to major car companies," Lowe says. "These numbers are staggering and should be of great concern to this agency."
Despite industry concern, Lofgren's bill is stuck in park, despite her success at securing senior Democrat sponsors that sit on the Judiciary Committee. The problem is that Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the chairman of the committee, is from Detroit. It is safe to assume that he will not let any anti-auto company legislation through his committee, at least not without a pitched battle.
Stephen Barlas has been a full-time freelance Washington editor since 1981, reporting for trade, professional magazines and newspapers on regulatory agency, congressional and White House actions and issues. He also writes a column for Automotive Engineering, the monthly publication for the Society of Automotive Engineers.
