BETHESDA, MD – In a hearing on Feb. 14 before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), in conjunction with Public Citizen, Consumers Union, the Center for Auto Safety and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, testified in support of preserving competition in the automobile replacement parts marketplace.

The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) has joined CFA and others in supporting an automotive design patent repair clause that will maintain the American consumer’s right to competition in the collision parts marketplace – a right consumers have had for more than 60 years.

The number of design patents awarded to the major automobile manufacturers has dramatically increased, growing in the past five years to about 20 to 25 percent of the total U.S. patents awarded to those manufacturers. Collision parts account for 50 to 93 percent of the U.S. design patents awarded to the car companies. Without a permanent legislative solution, automaker design patents could eliminate the entire alternative replacement parts industry, thus removing competition, driving up costs to consumers and threatening thousands of American jobs, according to AAIA.

"AAIA supports the Consumer Federation of America, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and the Center for Auto Safety in their pursuit to preserve competition in the automotive replacement parts industry," said Kathleen Schmatz, AAIA president and CEO. "In the 1990s, Congress said ‘no’ to an auto industry monopoly on replacement parts. It is time now for Congress to say ‘yes’ to the repair clause to prevent the auto companies from obtaining their monopoly through another route – design patent law."

Other organizations that have publicly announced their support of the design patent repair clause are the Quality Parts Coalition, the Automotive Body Parts Association and RetireSafe, a national advocacy group for older Americans.