PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Apr 4, 2017
Promoting Automotive Repair, Trade, and Sales Act of 2017 or the PARTS Act
This bill declares that it is not an act of infringement, with respect to a design patent that claims a component part of a motor vehicle as originally manufactured, to: (1) make, test, or offer to sell within, or import into, the United States any article of manufacture that is similar or the same in appearance to the component part claimed in such design patent if the purpose of such article is for the repair of a motor vehicle to restore its appearance as originally manufactured; or (2) use or sell within the United States any such same or similar articles for such restorations more than 30 months after the claimed component part is first offered for public sale as part of a motor vehicle in any country.
The bill defines: (1) "component part" as a component part of the exterior of a motor vehicle only (such as a hood, fender, tail light, side mirror, or quarter panel), excluding an inflatable restraint system or other component part located in the interior of a motor vehicle; and (2) "offer to sell" to include marketing or pre-sale distribution.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill applies to any patent issued, or application filed, before, on, or after the effective date of this bill.
People & committees
Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT] · R–UT
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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