II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 812 

To amend title 35, United States Code, to provide for an exception from 

infringement for certain component parts of motor vehicles. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 4, 2017 

Mr. HATCH (for himself and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 35, United States Code, to provide for an 

exception from infringement for certain component parts 

of motor vehicles. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Automotive 

5 Repair, Trade, and Sales Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘PARTS 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. EXCEPTION FROM INFRINGEMENT FOR CERTAIN 

8 COMPONENT PARTS OF MOTOR VEHICLES. 

9 Section 271 of title 35, United States Code, is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(j)(1) In this subsection— 

2 ‘‘(A) the term ‘component part’— 

3 ‘‘(i) means a component part of the exte4 rior of a motor vehicle only, such as a hood, 

5 fender, tail light, side mirror, or quarter panel; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) does not include an inflatable re8 straint system or other component part located 

9 in the interior of a motor vehicle; 

10 ‘‘(B) the term ‘make’ includes any testing of an 

11 article of manufacture; 

12 ‘‘(C) the term ‘motor vehicle’ has the meaning 

13 given the term in section 32101(7) of title 49; and 

14 ‘‘(D) the term ‘offer to sell’ includes any mar15 keting of an article of manufacture to prospective 

16 purchasers or users and any pre-sale distribution of 

17 the article of manufacture. 

18 ‘‘(2) With respect to a design patent that claims a 

19 component part of a motor vehicle as originally manufac20 tured— 

21 ‘‘(A) it shall not be an act of infringement of 

22 the design patent to make or offer to sell within the 

23 United States, or import into the United States, any 

24 article of manufacture that is similar or the same in 

25 appearance to the component part that is claimed in 


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1 the design patent if the purpose of the article of 

2 manufacture is for the repair of a motor vehicle so 

3 as to restore the motor vehicle to the appearance of 

4 the motor vehicle as originally manufactured; and 

5 ‘‘(B) after the expiration of a period of 30 

6 months beginning on the first day on which any 

7 such component part is first offered to the public for 

8 sale as part of a motor vehicle in any country, it 

9 shall not be an act of infringement of the design 

10 patent to use or sell within the United States any 

11 article of manufacture that is similar or the same in 

12 appearance to the component part that is claimed in 

13 the design patent if the purpose of the article of 

14 manufacture is for the repair of a motor vehicle so 

15 as to restore the motor vehicle to the appearance of 

16 the motor vehicle as originally manufactured.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

18 Section 289 of title 35, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in the first undesignated paragraph, by 

21 striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever’’; 

23 (2) in the second undesignated paragraph, by 

24 striking ‘‘Nothing’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER REMEDIES.—Noth2 ing’’; and 

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (a), as so des4 ignated, the following: 

5 ‘‘(b) INAPPLICABILITY.—This section shall not apply 

6 to an act described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection 

7 (a) if that act would not be considered an act of infringe8 ment under section 271(j)’’. 

9 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

10 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

11 upon the expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to any 

13 patent issued, or application for patent filed, before, on, 

14 or after that effective date. 

Æ 


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