<p>2015 Draft Resolution: </p><p>WHEREAS, the proposed PARTS Act would reduce the lifetime of certain Design Patents by more than 80% from fourteen (14) years to just thirty (30) months, creating a patent term so vanishingly small as to be contrary to the fundamental purpose of patents, as established in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution;</p><p>WHEREAS the PARTS Act, when implemented, may constitute an unconstitutional “taking” under the 5th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, inasmuch as current design patent owners for automobile replacement parts will have more than 80% of the present temporal property right taken away from them;</p><p>WHEREAS, the proposed PARTS Act, by having a drastically shortened patent term, would discourage innovation for certain automobile parts by those who presently innovate in this area;</p><p>WHEREAS, judicial precedent has long differentiated between the repair and the reconstruction of patented items, holding that, during the term of the patent grant (i.e. twenty (20) years from the filing date for utility patents and fourteen (14) years from the issue date for a design patents), the reconstruction of a patented item constitutes an infringement while repair of a patented item does not, this judicial precedent of repair v. reconstruction has served product developers and repair businesses well by establishing a fair balance amongst these parties within the domain of patent law; and</p><p>WHEREAS, the PARTS Act, if implemented, may set a dangerous legal precedent by, in essence, excepting from Design Patent protection a class of articles that would otherwise be eligible for Design Patent protection and may have the consequence of</p><p>Page encouraging further legislation, excepting from Design Patent protection other classes of articles that would otherwise be properly eligible for full-term Design Patent protection;</p><p>THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that AIPLA opposes, in principle, diminishing the current rights and remedies conferred by the design patent laws; and that it be</p><p>FURTHER RESOLVED, specifically, AIPLA opposes H.R. H.R.1057 (Issa) / S. 560 (Hatch), 114th Congress (2015 - 2016) in any present or amended form that removes patent infringement liability for making, using, offering to sell, selling, and importing component parts used to restore another article of manufacture to its original appearance. (Board of Directors Meeting – [ INSERT DATE.)</p><p>Page</p>