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The Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA) is calling on all members to take action in getting both the SMART Act and the REPAIR Act passed. Please share this with your employees, neighbors, and customers.
What You Can Do
These bills will not pass without your support. Here are two things you can do today:
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Email your Member of Congress to tell them to support the REPAIR Act and SMART Act. You can do that with one click of the button below. |
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Share your auto-repair story and be heard. Have design patents increased the cost to have a vehicle repaired? Has an independent repair shop said they can’t fix your car because of automaker restrictions? Can’t access your car’s data? Let us hear about it. Click below to tell us your story and we will share it with those who can make both pieces of legislation move forward. |
WHAT THE SMART ACT WILL DO:
- Reduce automaker patents on collision repair parts from 14 to 2.5 years.
- Allow aftermarket parts makers to make and test parts during the newly defined patent period.
- Allow aftermarket parts makers to sell a collision repair part after 2.5-year patent lifespan is over.
- Would not prevent automakers from enforcing patents against other automakers during 14-year patent lifespan.
WHAT THE REPAIR ACT WILL DO:
- Guarantees vehicle owners can get the parts, tools and information they need to choose aftermarket parts.
- Requires automakers to give consumers the critical information, software and tools they need to fix their vehicles.
- Requires automakers to give consumers access to their vehicle data needed for repair and maintenance.
- Requires NHTSA and the FTC to propose new rules to guarantee consumer access to vehicle data and provide cybersecurity.
DOWNLOADS:
- SMART Act Toolkit
CAR Coalition - Patent 101: Design vs. Utility Patents
CAR Coalition - White Paper: “The Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act, H.R. 6570, 117th Congress”
Aaron Perzanowski, Professor of Law, University of Michigan - White Paper: “Protecting the Consumer Patent Law Right of Repair and the Aftermarket for Exterior Motor Vehicle Repair Parts: The SMART Act, H.R. 1879, 117th Congress”
Joshua D. Sarnoff, Professor of Law, DePaul University College of Law - White Paper: “Gaming the System, a Backdoor Monopoly: How OEM Practices in the Automotive Industry Impact Consumers, Local Economies, and the Environment”
Blaire O’Neal, PhD - Research Report: “High Costs, Hard Hits: The Consumer Struggle with Rising Collision Repair Prices”
Blaire O’Neal, PhD - Research Report: “TOTALED: The Real Costs of Vehicle Loss”
Blaire O’Neal, PhD
Thank you for taking action!
