EU Extended Impact Assessment for Design Protection of Spare Automobile Parts

This extended impact assessment by the European Commission addresses the current situation of different, opposed regimes of design protection for spare automobile parts where 9 Member States have liberalized and 16 Member States extend design protection to spare parts. It has been drawn up making use the questionnaire sent in 1999 (to vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, independent component producers, insurance companies, parts distributors, repairers and consumer organisations), the results of the impact study undertaken in 2003, the various reviews and reports concerning Intellectual Property Rights, IPR, and the data sent to the Commission by other interested parties.