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Old 26-06-14, 11:14 AM   #2
SvNewbie
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Default Re: copywrite/patent laws

I'm procrastinating and thought that was an interesting question so spent a bit of time Googling.

From what I've read it sounds like most car parts can be copied by non-OEM manufactures, with the exception of parts for which the manufacturer has a patent claim. Obviously for a patent something needs to be patent worthy which means it must be in some way non-obvious or novel. You can probably rule that out for a seat cowl.

Apparently there have been some successful attempts to claim that body work has its own unique character and thus is deserving of protection under copyright law. Now, if you started with the mold made some improvements on the design you could argue that you don't fall foul of this either.

http://www.lexology.com/library/deta...2-c243f0e752dd

Practically, if you've got the time and effort to put into making the copies, when selling make it clear that they are not OEM parts, I would doubt anyone will ever bother with you.
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