The number of specialty equipment businesses discovering and leveraging quality product data as a tool for increasing sales is on the rise, with hundreds of companies investing time and connecting with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) during the 2015 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NV. The SDC kicked the SEMA Show week off with a dedicated “Education Day” on Monday, followed by four days of one-on-one meetings where companies discovered how to best manage product data in today’s technology heavy marketplace.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) has announced the Top 21 builders in the SEMA Battle of the Builders® competition. These 21 builders have a passion for modifying cars, trucks and SUVs and inspire the aftermarket community with their ingenuity and expertise. Introduced at the SEMA Show last year, the SEMA Battle of the Builders® competition recognizes the builders the aftermarket community considers best.

The top trending vehicle models in four categories were announced today at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. This year’s SEMA Award for the Hottest Car was awarded to Ford Mustang, the Ford Focus took the Hottest Sport Compact honors, the Ford F-Series was named Hottest Truck and the Jeep Wrangler received the Hottest 4x4-SUV award.

The U.S. Copyright Office today issued a ruling to allow vehicle owners to perform vehicle diagnosis, repair and modification without fear of prosecution under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).  However, the Copyright Office declined to provide the exemption to third parties who diagnose, repair or modify a vehicle on behalf of the vehicle owner. The Copyright Office concluded that extending the reach of an exemption to cover third-parties requires a legislative amendment undertaken by Congress.  Access to a vehicle’s telematics or entertainment system was also specifically excluded from the exemption.