#2292. The effect of design protection on price and price dispersion: Evidence from automotive spare parts

September 2026publication date
Proposal available till 30-05-2025
4 total number of authors per manuscript3510 $

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Journal’s subject area:
Industrial Relations;
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering;
Strategy and Management;
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Abstract:
We study the influence of design protection on price by exploiting cross-country differences in the scope of protection in the European automotive spare parts market: In some countries, repair parts are exempted from design protection, while in others they are not. We document large cross-country price deviations for identical spare parts and provide evidence that a part of these price deviations can be explained by the lack of harmonization of design protection in combination with carmakers’ pricing-to-market strategies.
Keywords:
Automotive aftermarket; Design patent; Design right; European car market; Law of one price; Price dispersion; Repair clause; Spare parts

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