Keystone Motion Denied
In the industry, reports on the general exclusion order for particular Ford aftermarket performance parts—already put into effect–is making life a wee bit harder for Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. The said company had previously filed a petition for reconsideration with the International Trade Commission regarding the matter of Ford’s patents and the sale of Ford aftermarket performance parts. However, members of the commission decided granting the petition and thus, ordered the enterprise to put an end to its ongoing investigations that had to do with the patents. The general exclusion order that the said commission had issued strongly discouraged the importation of Ford aftermarket performance parts or collision parts by any importer—of which Keystone is one–that was clearly and obviously doing a huge injustice to the car maker giant, Ford, by violating the distinctiveness in any of the seven design patents from Ford. All seven have been determined to be valid patents under Ford.
The final decision that the International Trade Commission gave provided the onset of the mandatory 60-day Presidential review period for the case. Respondents in the case, though, believe that they would have to appeal to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, at a later date.
Just one day following the United States Supreme Court’s April 30, 2007 decision in the KSR Inernational Co. VS Teleflex Inc., Keystone, along with the other respondents, filed the petition for reconsideration with the Comission.
Rick Keister, chief executive officer of Keystone, had released a statement earlier, saying: “As we have continuously stated, the industry and consumers greatly benefit from the utilization of quality replacement parts and a competitive marketplace. There are clearly broader issues related to the validity of design patents in the collision industry, and they need to be addressed. The International Trade Commission’s determination was not surprising and we intend to vigorously defend our position on behalf of our shareholders and consumers. We look forward to a successful resolution of this matter.”
Keister further details that of the parts being offered at this point by Keystone related to the ruling stood for less than .1 percent of the total sales in fiscal 2007 of the company.
Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. at large part, distributes its products to collision repair shops through its distribution facilities. On this note, there are a total of 137, all in all. 22 of these are used as regional hubs, placed in 39 states of the United States as well as in other strategic areas in Canada. Automotive body parts, bumpers and re-manufactured alloy wheels along with paint and other materials that are made used of in restoring a damaged car model –all these constitute the product lines of the said company.
Significantly, the report stresses the aggressive campaigns being taken by a car manufacturer to rain on the parade of the aftermarket collision replacement parts industry. This includes the subject of patenting vehicle parts old by the aftermarket that have ultimately led to the instigation of litigation proceedings involving trademark violations. Legislation that lends support to the OEM’s, too, seems to be possible. At this time though, it remains to be seen whether OEM or aftermarket performance part suppliers will get trounced in the negotiations.