The theme of this week’s design patent roundup is clearly automotive design patents. It might just be a coincidence that so many automotive design patent cases were filed this week, or the automotive industry may be getting nervous about the PARTS act. The “Promoting Automotive Repair, Trade, and Sales Act of 2013,” or PARTS Act, would reduce the effective life of automotive design patents covering collision repair parts to two and a half years. You can read the full text of the PARTS Act here. The PARTS Act was submitted to the House Committee on the Judiciary on April 23, 2013, but is still reported as having strong bi-partisan support.
