The “repair clause” aims at the reconstruction of composite products for the third party’s maintenance purposes. It includes products composed of multiple parts, such as automobiles, smart phones, clocks, and coffee machines. These products with replaceable appearance components are called “repair parts” in this paper. From appearance to the implementation of design right, it is not applicable to the exemption system of design right protection.
Daimler, the German car manufacturer, filed a patent lawsuit in Taiwan, resulting in shaking the foundation of Taiwan’s auto parts manufacturers. In 2020, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan, citing European national norms, proposed to amend Article 136 of the patent law by adding a maintenance exemption clause. The content mentioned that only the maintenance parts that restore the original appearance of composite products can be exempted from the effect of the patent design right, But it is still in the preliminary stage of the Legislative Yuan, and its subsequent development and influence are worthy of close observation by the industry and patent circles.