Component part of a complex product

A component part of a complex product is a component intended to be incorporated into a product made up of multiple replaceable parts permitting its disassembly and reassembly, such as a car or a household appliance. Its appearance may be protected as a design, but under specific conditions laid down by Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 and by the French Intellectual Property Code. The component meets the requirements of novelty and individual character only if it remains visible during normal use of the complex product.

The visibility requirement

The component must remain visible once incorporated into the complex product, and its visible features must themselves be new and have individual character. Normal use means use by the end user, excluding maintenance, servicing or repair. A component hidden under a bonnet or inside a casing therefore falls outside protection, even if it has an elaborate shape, unless it is covered by another right, such as copyright or a patent.

Spare parts and the repair clause

The protection of visible parts raises the question of the aftermarket. Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 excludes from protection a component part used to repair a complex product so as to restore its original appearance, a provision the Court of Justice of the European Union interprets as requiring visual identity with the original part and accurate information for the downstream user. The reform resulting from Regulation (EU) 2024/2822 and from the directive adopted at the same time makes this repair clause permanent and extends it to national laws, with a transitional period. In France, the 2021 Climate and Resilience Act had already opened up the market for certain car parts, in particular glazing.

Interaction with other exclusions

A visible component may also come up against the exclusion of features dictated by technical function and of features of interconnection, which must be reproduced exactly to allow mechanical connection. Modular systems, however, escape the latter exclusion. In litigation, the analysis is carried out part by part, distinguishing the component’s own appearance from the constraints imposed by its integration into the whole.

Key points

A component part of a complex product is protectable only if it remains visible in normal use and its visible features are new and have individual character. Spare parts intended to restore the original appearance fall under a repair regime that is being harmonised in the Union. Before filing or taking action, the visibility of the part, the existence of interconnection constraints and the status of the repair clause applicable to the target market should be checked.

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This glossary entry is general in scope and does not constitute legal advice.

Dhenne Avocats is a patent litigation firm. Matters outside that field, such as trade marks, designs, copyright and IT contracts, are handled by practitioners the firm works with regularly, and by the firm itself when they arise in a patent dispute.

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