II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 780 

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 23, 2013 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself and Mr. HATCH) 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 2013’’ or the ‘‘PARTS 

6 Act’’. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 780 IS

1 SEC. 2. EXCEPTION FROM INFRINGEMENT FOR CERTAIN 

2 COMPONENT PARTS OF MOTOR VEHICLES. 

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

4 amended by adding at the end the following new sub5 section: 

6 ‘‘(j)(1) With respect to a design patent that claims 

7 a component part of a motor vehicle as originally manufac8 tured— 

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

10 such design patent to make or offer to sell within 

11 the United States, or import into the United States, 

12 any article of manufacture that is similar or the 

13 same in appearance to the component part that is 

14 claimed in such design patent if the purpose of such 

15 article of manufacture is for the repair of a motor 

16 vehicle so as to restore such vehicle to its appear17 ance as originally manufactured; and 

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

19 months beginning on the first day on which any 

20 such component part is first offered to the public for 

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

22 shall not be an act of infringement of such design 

23 patent to use or sell within 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 

26 such design patent if the purpose of such article of 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 780 IS

1 manufacture is for the repair of a motor vehicle so 

2 as to restore such vehicle to its appearance as origi3 nally manufactured. 

4 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection— 

5 ‘‘(A) the term ‘component part’— 

6 ‘‘(i) means a component part of the exte7 rior of a motor vehicle only, such as a hood, 

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

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) does not include an inflatable re11 straint system or other component part located 

12 in the interior of a motor vehicle; 

13 ‘‘(B) the term ‘motor vehicle’ has the meaning 

14 given that term in section 32101(7) of title 49; 

15 ‘‘(C) the term ‘make’ includes any testing of an 

16 article of manufacture; and 

17 ‘‘(D) the term ‘offer to sell’ includes any mar18 keting of an article of manufacture to prospective 

19 purchasers or users and any pre-sale distribution of 

20 the article of manufacture.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

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

23 amended— 

24 (1) in the first paragraph, by striking ‘‘Who25 ever’’ and inserting the following: 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 780 IS

1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever’’; 

2 (2) in the second paragraph, by striking ‘‘Noth3 ing’’ and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER REMEDIES.—Noth5 ing’’; and 

6 (3) by inserting after subsection (a), as des7 ignated by paragraph (1), the following: 

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

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

10 (a) if that act would not be considered an act of infringe11 ment under section 271(j)’’. 

12 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

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

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

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

17 or after that effective date. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS