Designs in the Spotlight: Spare Parts and the Repair Clause Defence

After introducing the background to the adoption of EU rules on the protection of spare parts leading to the “Freeze Plus” compromise in the Community Designs Directive and to the repair clause in the Community Designs Regulation, the e-presentation offers a critical analysis of judgments adopted by the CJEU on this issue, especially the ruling in Ford Motor Company v Wheeltrims srl whereby the Court of Justice rejected the repair clause argument in a trade mark infringement case.

David Stone

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Question 1 of 3

Question 1: The "freeze plus" solution codified in Article 14 of the Directive states that:

Member states shall change their existing provisions relating to the use of the design of a component part used for the purpose of the repair of a complex product so as to restore its original appearance and shall introduce changes to those provisions only if the purpose is to liberalise the market for such parts..

Member states shall maintain in force their existing provisions relating to the use of the design of a component part used for the purpose of the repair of a complex product so as to restore its original appearance and shall introduce changes to those provisions only if the purpose is to liberalise the market for such parts.

Member states shall maintain in force their existing provisions relating to the use of the design of a product for the purpose of the repair of a product so as to restore its original appearance and shall introduce changes to those provisions only if the purpose is to liberalise the market for such parts.

Question 2 of 3

**Question 2: According to the decision adopted by the Court of Justice in Ford Motor Company v Wheeltrims:**

the spare parts exception does not permit a manufacturer to infringe a third party’s trade marks.

the spare parts exception permits a manufacturer to infringe a third party’s trade marks.

it is unclear whether the spare parts exception permits a manufacturer to infringe a third party’s trade marks.

Question 3 of 3

Question 3: The EU Design Directive has harmonised the rules applicable to spares:

No.

Yes.