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The Access to Repair Parts Act

If the Access to Repair Parts Act is signed into law, it appears that anyone who manufactures or sells replacement parts that are substantially similar or even identical to designs protected by a registered design patent could do so with little risk of infringing the patent.

21 minute read September 29, 2009 at 03:27 PM
By
Jason Nardiello and James W. Gould
The Access to Repair Parts Act

Manufacturers of certain goods with aesthetic qualities may currently seek design patent protection for those goods under ' 171 of Title 35, U.S. Code. To be patentable, a design must be new, non-obvious, and ornamental.

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