In a new video from the CAR Coalition, independent repair shop owner Greg Southwick (Falcon Collision and Customs – Grantsville, Utah) sheds light on the real-life impacts of automaker design patent abuse, underscoring the urgent need for federal right to repair solutions to protect consumers and small businesses.
Automakers are increasingly using design patents to cover basic replacement parts, like bumpers and fenders – making it more and more difficult for independent repair shops like Greg’s to provide timely and affordable repairs to their customers.
Greg describes a recent challenge replacing a truck hood, which was covered by an automaker design patent, for a local construction company. Unable to source aftermarket alternatives, the truck sat in the shop lot for two months while the automaker-branded hood was on national backorder:
“Hoods have been around since the early 1900s. Just because the air flows through it differently doesn’t mean it should have a design patent…We need to have the option of the aftermarket and not just have the manufacturers running freely with these design patterns.”
– Greg Southwick, Owner of Falcon Collision and Customs in Grantsville, Utah
For Greg, aftermarket alternatives “fit well” and “function the same” as automaker-branded parts at a fraction of the cost – yet, growing design patent misuse is squeezing these options out of the car repair market.
As Greg notes, Congress needs to act on commonsense right to repair solutions like the bipartisan the Save Money on Auto Repair Transportation (SMART) Act (H.R. 1707) to protect car owners and independent repair businesses like his.
“I support the SMART Act so my customers and consumers can have a safe quality alternative replacement part. What I enjoy most about my job really is being able to look a customer in the eye at the end and know that they’re safe.”
– Greg Southwick, Owner of Falcon Collision and Customs in Grantsville, Utah
It’s time to level the playing field for independent repair shops and consumers. Tell Congress to advance bipartisan right to repair legislation today!
