Design Protection: Threat to the EU Aftermarket for Automotive Glass?

Gerhard Riehle

The EU replacement market for automotive
glass is worth ECU 1 bn p.a. It shares the destiny
of the overall market for automotive spare parts
upon which more than 180 million EU vehicle
owners are dependent. Although their own pro-duction
is modest (as regards glass non-existent)
vehicle makers control almost 60 % of the EU
spare parts distribution. In order to further extend
their dominant position they claim design rights,
especially on car body parts, lightings and auto-motive
glass. To extend design protection to this
kind of spares would give vehicle makers a water-tight
monopoly in the submarket of “crash” parts
(worth about ECU 10 bn p.a.); and it would drive
parts producers, independent wholesalers, repair-ers
and automotive glass installers out of business.
This runs foul of established design principles as
well as of consumer and public interests. The well
balanced answer to the problem is the “Repairs
Clause”. European Parliament and Commission
have jointly proposed to insert it in the imminent EU
design legislation; the Council of Ministers, to the
advantage of vehicle makers, wants to delete the
Repairs Clause and to leave the problem to the
design laws of Member States. It is therefore likely
that only a conciliation proceeding can ultimately
tell the automotive glass industry of Europe
whether or not the existing threat will continue.

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