Autorecht 2014

The automotive industry is one of the key industries in the Federal Republic of Germany. At the conference "motor vehicle law 2014" at the University of Augsburg, central legal issues, in particular with regard to the spare parts business, were discussed. Topics ranged from antitrust law in the distribution of motor vehicles and vehicle spare parts, trademark protection and protection under competition law in the spare parts market, the permissibility of the use of manufacturer's identification marks by independent car repair shops, the new German law on design protection entered into force on January 1, 2014, the protection of spare parts afforded by design law to the practical application of intel-lectual property strategies and the evaluation of trademark and design portfolios.