On September 10th the long-awaited "Act for
Strengthening Competition" was passed by the German
Government. This has enormous impact on German design law. The law
makes it necessary to include in German design law a provision,
which excludes spare parts from design protection in certain
circumstances and will therefore limit design protection in Germany
in the future. Although there is typically a close link between
spare parts and the automotive sector, the "repair
clause" will have effect beyond this sector, from household
electronics, sanitary ware to airplanes or trains.
Legal situation within Europe and Germany
Although the European legislator excluded protection for spare
parts used for the purpose of repair to restore the original
appearance of a complex product from the scope of EU-wide designs
(RCDs) with the objective of strengthening competition as early as
2001, the landscape regarding the national protection of spare
parts in individual EU countries
