Right to repair

Last updated

Right to repair is a legal right for owners of devices and equipment to freely modify and repair products such as automobiles, electronics, and farm equipment. Right to repair may also refer to the social movement of citizens putting pressure on their governments to enact laws protecting a right to repair.

Contents

Common obstacles to repair include requirements to use only the manufacturer's maintenance services, restrictions on access to tools and components, and software barriers.

Proponents for this right point to the benefits in affordability, sustainability, and availability of critical supplies in times of crisis.

Impacts

While initially driven majorly by automotive consumers protection agencies and the automotive after sales service industry, the discussion of establishing a right to repair not only for vehicles but for any kind of electronic product gained traction as consumer electronics such as smartphones and computers became universally available causing broken and used electronics to become the fastest growing waste stream. [1] Today it's estimated that more than half of the population of the western world has one or more used or broken electronic devices at home that are not introduced back into the market due to a lack of affordable repair. [2]

In addition to the consumer goods, healthcare equipment repair access made news at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when hospitals had trouble getting maintenance for some critical high-demand medical equipment, most notably ventilators. [3] [4] [5]

A 2012 Massachusetts law on repairing cars, has gone nationwide and made it easier to repair automobiles in the U.S. [6]

Definition

Right to repair refers to the concept that end users of technical, electronic or automotive devices should be allowed to freely repair these products. Some notable aspects of a product include: [7]

  1. the device should be constructed and designed in a manner that allows repairs to be made easily;
  2. end users and independent repair providers should be able to access original spare parts and necessary tools (software as well as physical tools) at fair market conditions;
  3. repairs should, by design, be possible and not be hindered by software programming; and
  4. the repairability of a device should be clearly communicated by the manufacturer.

Some goals of the right to repair are to favor repair instead of replacement, and make such repairs more affordable leading to a more sustainable economy and reduction in electronic waste. [8] [6] [9]

Repair-friendly design

The use of glue or proprietary screws can make repairs more difficult. [8] The European Union standardized charging ports for small devices, requiring all devices to use USB-C. [10]

Accessible spare parts and tools

Parts and tools needed to make repairs, should be available to everyone, including consumers. [8]

Software

Parts pairing is when a company does not allow parts to be swapped without a password that they provide to preferred technicians. [10] New ways to lock devices like part pairing (components of a device are serialized and can not be swapped against others) became increasingly popular among manufacturers, including digital rights management. [11] Using approved parts can increase the cost of the repair, leading many consumers to speed up their upgrade cycle to a new device. [12]

In addition to access to software updates, the ability to install 3rd-party software is also mentioned as a major goal, which would, for example, allow some devices to be adapted over time. [8]

Transparency

Manuals and design schematics should be freely available and help consumers know how to repair their devices. [8] [13]

Example of a law addressing different aspects of repairability
Aspect of repairabilityScopeJurisdiction
Repairability scorecardsFrance
Standardized partsUSB-cEuropean Union
Parts pairingOregon [14]
3rd-party software allowed
Software update support
Sell spare parts
Tools needed to make repairs can be found easily
Manuals and design schematic freely available

History

The Phoebus cartel was one of the first notable examples of planned obsolescence to increase revenue Electric lightbulb, Paris.jpg
The Phoebus cartel was one of the first notable examples of planned obsolescence to increase revenue

The strategy to continuously change products to create continuous demand for the latest generation was pursued at a large scale by General Motors executive Alfred P. Sloan. [15] [16] GM overtook Ford as the biggest American automaker and planned obsolescence with annual variants of a product became widely adopted across industries in the American economy, eventually becoming adopted by Ford by 1933. [17] [18]

The car industry was at the forefront of establishing the concept of certified repair: starting from the 1910s, Ford established certified dealerships and service networks to promote parts made by Ford instead of independent repair shops and often after-sales parts. Ford also pushed for standardized pricing among certified repair shops, making flat fees mandatory even for different repairs. The combination of annual updates to cars and components made it more difficult for independent repair shops to maintain a stock of parts. [19] [18]

A couple court cases have required products with repaired or refurbished components to be labeled as 'used.' [20] [21]

Some manufacturers shifted towards more repairable designs. Apple, which rose quickly to become one of the largest computer manufacturers, sold the first computers with circuit board descriptions, easy-to-swap components, and clear repair instructions. [22]

Copyright with regard to computer software source code also became a front on the limitation of repairability. In the U.S., the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 prohibits repairs unless granted an exception, and has been used to block repairs as software became more common in a range of devices and appliances. [23] [24]

To prevent refilling of empty ink cartridges, manufacturers had started placing microchips counting fill levels and usage, rendering refills difficult or impossible. Reselling and refurbishing products was confirmed to be legal by the Supreme Court in 2017 in Impression Prods., Inc. v. Lexmark Int'l, Inc. . [25] As of 2022, complaints about the longevity and repairability of printers remains. [26]

Right to repair activists speaking at a conference DEF CON 30 Right to Repair - Louis Rossmann and Joe Grand 24-2.png
Right to repair activists speaking at a conference

In the early 2000s, the automotive industry defeated the first proposal of a right to repair bill for the automotive sector. [27] While the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF), an organization supported by the automotive industry, established an online directory for accessing manufacturer information and tools in 2001, [28] a study conducted by the Terrance Group found that around 59% of independent repair services continued to struggle to get access to diagnostic tools and parts from manufacturers. [29] [ non-primary source needed ] The share of electronic components in the total bill of materials for a car also rose from 5% in the 1970s to over 22% in 2000. [30] The increasing hybridization of cars brought the need of special tools that a manufacturer only shared with authorized repair services. [31]

A trend towards right to repair in automotive and other industries gained traction with more proposed laws and court decisions. [27] While initially driven by automotive consumers protection agencies and the automotive after-sales service industry, the discussion of establishing a right to repair for any kind of industrially produced device gained traction as consumer electronics such as smartphones and computers became widely used, alongside advanced computerized integration in farming equipment. The movement was also backed by climate change activists aiming to reduce e-waste. [32]

Major events concerning the "Right to Repair" movement since 2000
YearEventsNotes
2012Automotive right to repair passed in Massachusetts [33] The first automotive right to repair act in the U.S. [33]
2014Bill passes in the US to allow for phone unlockingForces mobile operators to unlock cell phones [34]
2015Library of Congress ruled in favor of repair-related exemption in DMCADMCA act copy protection circumvention exemption for repairs [35]
2021France created repairability indexFirst government to do so, modeled on iFixit's scorecard. [36]
2021U.K. Right to Repair law in effectElectronic appliance manufacturers required to be able to provide consumers with spare parts for "simple and safe" repairs and to make complex parts available to repair shops. [37]
2022New York enacts the Digital Fair Repair Act First state in the U.S. to enact a Right to Repair law covering consumer electronics
2023Colorado enacts the Consumer Right To Repair Agricultural Equipment ActFirst state in the U.S. to enact a Right to Repair law covering farming equipment [38]
2023Minnesota law passed [39] It is the first right-to-repair law to address home appliances; the Verge called it 'groundbreaking' [39]
2023California enacts a Right to Repair Act [40] Engadget believes this bill will be the model for future federal legislation. [10]
2024European Union adopted a set of right-to-repair rules [41] The rules are not yet finalized as they must be adopted by member states and approved by the Council. [41] They seek to incentivize repair instead of replacement for consumer devices. [42]
2024Oregon bans parts pairing starting in 2025 [14] The first law to do so according to WIRED [14]

The first successful implementation of a right to repair came when Massachusetts passed the United States' first right to repair law for the automotive sector in 2012, which required automobile manufacturers to sell the same service materials and diagnostics directly to consumers or to independent mechanics as they used to provide exclusively to their dealerships. As a result, major automobile trade organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding in January 2014 using the Massachusetts law as the basis of their agreement for all 50 states starting in the 2018 automotive year. [33]

Companies like Apple, John Deere, and AT&T have lobbied against Right to Repair bills, and created a number of "strange bedfellows" from high tech and agricultural sectors on both sides of the issue, according to Time . [43] The tech industry has lobbied in opposition through groups like TechNet [44] , the Entertainment Software Alliance ("ESA") [45] . The Association of Equipment Manufacturers ("AEM") and their dealership counterparts the Equipment Dealers Association's 2018 Statement of Principles became the subject of media backlash when in January 2021 the promised means to make complete repairs had not been visibly available. [46]

In late 2017, users of older iPhone models discovered evidence that recent updates to the phone's operating system, iOS, were throttling the phone's performance. This led to accusations that Apple sabotaged the performance of older iPhones to compel customers to buy new models more frequently. [47] [48] Apple disputed this assumed intention, stating instead that the goal of the software was to prevent overtaxing older lithium-ion batteries, which have degraded over time, to avoid unexpected shutdowns of the phone. [49] Furthermore, Apple allowed users to disable the feature in an iOS update but advised against it. [50] Additionally, Apple allowed users of affected iPhones to obtain service to replace batteries in their phones for a reduced cost of service (US$29 compared to US$79) for the next six months. [51] However, the "right to repair" movement argued that the best outcome would be Apple allowing consumers to purchase third-party batteries and possess the instructions to replace it at a lower cost. [52]

In April 2018, the Federal Trade Commission sent notice to six automobile, consumer electronics, and video game console manufacturers, later revealed through a Freedom of Information Act request to be Hyundai, Asus, HTC, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, stating that their warranty practices may violate the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. [53] The FTC specifically identified that informing consumers that warranties are voided if they break a warranty sticker or seal on the unit's packaging, use third-party replacement parts, or use third-party repair services is a deceptive practice, as these terms are only valid if the manufacturer provides free warranty service or replacement parts. [54] Both Sony and Nintendo released updated warranty statements following this notice. [55]

In April 2018, US Public Interest Research Group issued a statement defending Eric Lundgren over his sentencing for creating the ‘restore disks’ to extend the life of computers. [56] [ additional citation(s) needed ]

In 2018, the exemption for making software modifications to "land-based motor vehicles" was expanded to allow equipment owners to engage the services of third parties to assist with making changes. These changes were endorsed by the American Farm Bureau Federation. [57] [58] [59] In its 2021 recommendations, the Library of Congress further extend the exemption, with favorable right-to-repair considerations for automobiles, boats, agricultural vehicles, and medical equipment, as well as modifying prior rules related to other consumer goods. [60]

Senator Elizabeth Warren, as part of her campaign for president, laid out plans for legislation related to agriculture in March 2019, stated her intent to introduce legislation to affirm the right to repair farm equipment, potentially expanding this to other electronic devices. [61] [ additional citation(s) needed ]

In August 2019, Apple announced a program where independent repair shops may have the ability to buy official replacement parts for Apple products. Several operators became Authorized under their "IRP" program but many smaller repair operators avoided the option due to legally onerous burdens. [62] [ additional citation(s) needed ]

In the 2010s the trend of making one's repairs to devices spread from the east into the Western Europe. [63] In July 2017, the European Parliament approved recommendations that member states should pass laws that give consumers the right to repair their electronics, as part of a larger update to its previous Ecodesign Directive from 2009 which called for manufacturers to produce more energy-efficient and cleaner consumer devices. The ability to repair devices is seen by these recommendations as a means to reduce waste to the environment. [64] With these recommendations, work began on establishing the legal Directive for the EU to support the recommendations, and from which member states would then pass laws to meet the Directive. One of the first areas of focus was consumer appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines. Some were assembled using adhesives instead of mechanical fasteners which made it impossible for consumers or repair technicians from making non-destructive repairs. The right-to-repair facets of appliances were a point of contention and lobbying between European consumer groups and appliance manufacturers. [63] Ultimately, the EU passed legislation in October 2019 that required manufacturers of appliances to be able to supply replacement parts to professional repairmen for ten years from manufacture. The legislation did not address other facets related to right-to-repair, and activists noted that this still limited the consumer's ability to perform their own repairs. [65]

The EU also has directives toward a circular economy which are aimed toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other excessive wastes through recycling and other programs. A 2020 "Circular Economy Action Plan" draft included the electronics right to repair for EU citizens to allow device owners to replace only malfunctioning parts rather than replace the entire device, reducing electronics waste. The Action Plan included additional standardization that would aid toward rights to repair, such as common power ports on mobile devices. [66]

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, where medical equipment became critical for many hospitals, iFixit and a team of volunteers worked to publish and make accessible the largest known collection of manuals and service guides for medical equipment, using information crowdsourced from hospitals, medical institutions and sites like Frank's Hospital Workshop. iFixit had found, like with consumer electronics, some of the more expensive medical equipment had used means to make non-routine servicing difficult for end-users and requiring authorized repair processes. [67] [68]

2020 Massachusetts Question 1 passed to update the previous measure on automobile repair to include electronic vehicle data. [69] Before it could come into effect, in June 2023, the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration instructed manufacturers to ignore the 2020 Massachusetts law, asserting it was preempted by federal law because opening telematics to other organizations could make cars more vulnerable to computer hackers. (Both claims are disputed by Massachusetts in the lawsuit.) [70]

In May of 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a report "Nixing the Fix" to Congress that outlined issues around corporations' policies that limit repairs on consumer goods that it considered in violation of trade laws, and outlined steps that could be done to better enforce this. This included self-regulation by the industries involved, as well as expansion of existing laws such as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act or new laws to give the FTC better enforcement to protect consumers from overzealous repair restrictions. [71]

In July of 2021, the Biden administration issued an executive order to the FTC [72] and the Department of Agriculture [73] to widely improve access to repair for both consumers and farmers. The executive order to the FTC included instructions to craft rules to prevent manufacturers from preventing repairs performed by owners or independent repair shops. [74] [75] About two weeks later, the FTC made a unanimous vote to enforce the right to repair as policy and will look to take action against companies that limit the type of repair work that can be done at independent repair shops. [76]

Apple announced in November 2021 that it would be allowing consumers to order parts and make repairs on Apple products, initially with iPhone 12 and 13 devices but eventually rolling out to include Mac computers. [77] [ additional citation(s) needed ] Reception to the program has been mixed, with Right to Repair advocate Louis Rossmann seeing the program as a step in the right direction, but criticized the omission of certain parts, and the need to input a serial number before ordering parts. [78] [ additional citation(s) needed ]

In 2021, France created a repairability scoring system that took inspiration from iFixit's scorecard. France expressed its intent to merge it into a 'Durability index' that also considers how long items are expected to last. [36]

In 2022, Apple started enabling customers to repair batteries and screens. [79] Additionally, Apple has prevented companies from repairing or refurbishing Apple's products without their permission. These action have irritated consumers who believe Apple is against the right to repair. [80]

In 2022, Framework Computer, Adafruit, Raspberry Pi, among other computer systems, started sharing 3D-printable models for replacement parts. [81]

On December 28, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the Digital Fair Repair Act, nearly seven months after it had passed the state senate. The law established the right of consumers and independent repairers to get manuals, diagrams, and original parts from manufacturers, although The Verge , Engadget , and Ars Technica noted that the bill was made less vigorous by way of last-minute changes that provided exceptions to original equipment manufacturers. It will apply to electronic devices sold in the state in 2023. [82] [83] [84]

John Deere announced in January 2023 that it was signing a memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation agreeing that American farmers had the right to repair their own equipment or have it serviced at independent repair shops in the United States. Consumers and independent repair centers would still be bound against divulging certain trade secrets, and cannot tamper or override emission control settings, but are otherwise free to repair as they see fit. [85]

In 2023, three business professors cautioned that right-to-repair laws by themselves, could have unintended consequences including incentivizing companies to create cheaper products that are lower-cost and less repairable or durable, or raise the initial sale price of the item. [86] [87]

On May 24, 2023, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed the broadest right-to-repair law yet, which was included as part of a state appropriations bill. Minnesota's law will apply to devices sold in the state on or after July 1, 2021, and manufacturers of such devices must provide service manuals for them at no cost to residents of the state. The law will take effect on July 1, 2024. [39]

On October 10, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 244 (SB-244), the Right to Repair Act, with enforcement beginning July 1, 2024. [88] [89]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple Inc.</span> American multinational technology company

Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. Devices include the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro, and Apple TV; operating systems include iOS, iPadOS, and macOS; and software applications and services include iTunes, iCloud, Apple Music, and Apple TV+.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consumer electronics</span> Electronic products for everyday use

Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. These products are usually referred to as black goods due to many products being housed in black or dark casings. This term is used to distinguish them from "white goods" which are meant for housekeeping tasks, such as washing machines and refrigerators, although nowadays, these would be considered black goods, some of these being connected to the Internet. In British English, they are often called brown goods by producers and sellers. In the 2010s, this distinction is absent in large big box consumer electronics stores, which sell entertainment, communication and home office devices, light fixtures and appliances, including the bathroom type.

In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence is the concept of policies planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life or a purposely frail design, so that it becomes obsolete after a certain pre-determined period of time upon which it decrementally functions or suddenly ceases to function, or might be perceived as unfashionable. The rationale behind this strategy is to generate long-term sales volume by reducing the time between repeat purchases. It is the deliberate shortening of the lifespan of a product to force people to purchase functional replacements.

An extended warranty, sometimes called a service agreement, a service contract, or a maintenance agreement, is a prolonged warranty offered to consumers in addition to the standard warranty on new items. The extended warranty may be offered by the warranty administrator, the retailer or the manufacturer. Extended warranties cost extra and for a percentage of the item's retail price. Occasionally, some extended warranties that are purchased for multiple years state in writing that during the first year, the consumer must still deal with the manufacturer in the occurrence of malfunction. Thus, what is often promoted as a five-year extended guarantee, for example, is actually only a four-year guarantee.

In law, a warranty is an expressed or implied promise or assurance of some kind. The term's meaning varies across legal subjects. In property law, it refers to a covenant by the grantor of a deed. In insurance law, it refers to a promise by the purchaser of an insurance about the thing or person to be insured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic waste recycling</span> Form of recycling

Electronic waste recycling, electronics recycling, or e-waste recycling is the disassembly and separation of components and raw materials of waste electronics; when referring to specific types of e-waste, the terms like computer recycling or mobile phone recycling may be used. Like other waste streams, reuse, donation, and repair are common sustainable ways to dispose of IT waste.

Lemon laws are laws that provide a remedy for purchasers of cars and other consumer goods in order to compensate for products that repeatedly fail to meet standards of quality and performance. Although many types of products can be defective, the term "lemon" is mostly used to describe defective motor vehicles, such as cars, trucks, and motorcycles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act</span> United States federal law governing warranties on consumer products

The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act is a United States federal law. Enacted in 1975, the federal statute governs warranties on consumer products. The law does not require any product to have a warranty, but if it does have a warranty, the warranty must comply with this law. The law was created to fix problems as a result of manufacturers using disclaimers on warranties in an unfair or misleading manner.

A robocall is a phone call that uses a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, as if from a robot. Robocalls are often associated with political and telemarketing phone campaigns, but can also be used for public service, emergency announcements, or scammers. Multiple businesses and telemarketing companies use auto-dialing software to deliver prerecorded messages to millions of users. Some robocalls use personalized audio messages to simulate an actual personal phone call. The service is also viewed as prone to association with scams.

An authorized service provider (ASP) or Authorized Repair Provider (ARP) is defined in New York General Business Law § 399-nn is defined to mean "An individual or business who has an arrangement with the original equipment manufacturer under which the original equipment manufacturer grants to the individual or business a license to use a trade name, service mark, or other proprietary identifier for the purposes of offering the services of diagnosis, maintenance or repair of digital electronic equipment under the name of the original equipment manufacturer, or other arrangement with the original equipment manufacturer to offer such services on behalf or the original equipment manufacturer."

Refurbishment is the distribution of products that have been previously returned to a manufacturer or vendor for any reason, not sold in the market or new launch of a product. Refurbished products are normally tested for functionality and defects before they are sold to the public. They are repaired by the original manufacturer and resold.

AppleCare+ is Apple's brand name for extended warranty and technical support plans for their devices. AppleCare+ extends the devices' one-year limited warranty and the ninety days of technical support. It allows the customer unlimited incidents of accidental damage with a deductible. AppleCare+ is available for many Apple products, including Mac computers and displays, Beats headphones, HomePods, iPhones and iPads, Apple Watches, and Apple TVs. AppleCare+ plans include Apple software associated with the covered hardware.

The Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act, sometimes also referred to as Right to Repair, is a name for several related proposed bills in the United States Congress and several state legislatures which would require automobile manufacturers to provide the same information to independent repair shops as they do for dealer shops.

Pre-installed software is software already installed and licensed on a computer or smartphone bought from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The operating system is usually factory-installed, but because it is a general requirement, this term is used for additional software apart from the bare necessary amount, usually from other sources.

iFixit is an American e-commerce and how-to website that sells repair parts and publishes free wiki-like online repair guides for consumer electronics and gadgets. The company also performs product tear-downs of consumer devices. It is a private company in San Luis Obispo, California founded in 2003, spurred by Kyle Wiens not being able to locate an Apple iBook G3 repair manual while the company's founders were attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hacking of consumer electronics</span>

The hacking of consumer electronics is a common practice that users perform to customize and modify their devices beyond what is typically possible. This activity has a long history, dating from the days of early computer, programming, and electronics hobbyists.

Fairphone is a Dutch electronics manufacturer that designs and produces smartphones and headphones. It aims to minimise the ethical and environmental impact of its devices by using recycled, fairtrade and conflict-free materials, maintaining fair labor conditions throughout its workforce and suppliers, and enabling users to easily repair their devices through modular design and by providing replacement parts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenmore (brand)</span> Brand of household appliances

Kenmore is an American brand of household appliances, cookware, floorcare, grills, HVAC equipment and other home items owned and licensed by Transformco, an affiliate of ESL Investments. Previously they were a subsidiary brand of Sears Holdings, but after Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018 they were acquired by Transformco, formed in 2019 after acquiring the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Rossmann</span> American YouTuber and right to repair activist (born 1988)

Louis Anthony Rossmann is an American independent repair technician, YouTuber, and right to repair activist. He is the owner and operator of Rossmann Repair Group in Austin, Texas, a computer repair shop established in 2007 which specializes in logic board-level repair of MacBooks. He also started the Repair Preservation Group, a non-profit organization advocating for the right to repair.

The Digital Fair Repair Act is a New York State law that ensures consumers and independent repairers the right to repair their consumer electronics. The law requires original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of consumer electronics to provide parts, tools, manuals, and other information to consumers for the repair of these devices. It exempts motor vehicles, home appliances, and medical equipment. The bill was signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul on December 28, 2022, and it will apply to devices first used or purchased in the state on or after July 1, 2023. This law makes New York the first state in the United States to mandate a form of Right to Repair by consumers for electronic devices.

References

  1. Semuels, Alana (23 May 2019). "The World Has an E-Waste Problem". Time. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  2. Thobe, Fabian V. (October 4, 2017). "Fino a 2.6 Miliardi di Euro & 1 Miliardo di KG CO2 sprecati dagli smartphone che gli italiani non usano più". riCompro (Blog) (in Italian).
  3. He, Shuhan; Lai, Debbie; Lee, Jarone (April 2021). "The medical right to repair: the right to save lives". The Lancet. 397 (10281): 1260–1261. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00445-1. PMC   7990498 . PMID   33773116.
  4. Perlow, Jason; Cipriani, Jason (July 7, 2021). "Your right to repair: How COVID sent businesses, hospitals, and consumers to the breaking point". ZDNET . Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  5. Condon, Stephanie (August 6, 2020). "Lawmakers call for "right to repair" medical equipment during COVID-19 pandemic". ZDNET. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  6. 1 2 Chen, Brian X. (14 July 2021). "Why You Should Care About Your Right to Repair Gadgets". The New York Times.
  7. Park, Miles (March 22, 2018). "Sustainable shopping: if you really, truly need a new phone, buy one with replaceable parts". The Conversation.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "What You Should Know About Right to Repair". Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World. 15 July 2021.
  9. King, Rosie (2021-07-10). "It's getting easier to throw out broken technology, and harder to repair it — but an Australian movement is pushing back". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  10. 1 2 3 Cooper, Daniel (2023-12-27). "The Right to Repair movement won its biggest victories in 2023". Engadget. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  11. De Leon, Nicholas (26 October 2018). "It's Now Okay to Bypass DRM Software to Fix Gadgets, but Right-to-Repair Fight Isn't Over". Consumer Reports. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  12. Casserly, Martyn (November 17, 2020). "Right to Repair laws may soon make Apple change iPhone design". Tech Advisor .
  13. Marshall, Aarian (October 20, 2022). "High-Tech Cars Are Killing the Auto Repair Shop". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  14. 1 2 3 Hoover, Amanda. "Apple Is Making It Slightly Easier to Repair Your iPhone". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  15. Yanes, Javier (11 September 2020). "The Origin and Myths of Planned Obsolescence". Open Mind by BBVA. BBVA Group. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  16. Strauss, Ilana (December 7, 2018). "How GM Invented Planned Obsolescence". Tree Hugger. Dotdash by About, Inc. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  17. Slade, Giles (2006). Made to break : technology and obsolescence in America. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. p. 42-48. ISBN   0674025725 . Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  18. 1 2 Strasser, Susan (1999). Waste and want: a social history of trash (1st ed.). New York: Metropolitan Books. p. 220. ISBN   0805065121.
  19. McIntyre, Stephen L. (April 1, 2000). "The Failure of Fordism: Reform of the Automobile Repair Industry, 1913–1940". Technology and Culture . 41 (2): 269–299. doi:10.1353/tech.2000.0075. JSTOR   25147500. S2CID   109379833 . Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  20. "Unfair Competition—Reconditioning Used Goods—Permissible Limits of Resale of Patented or Trademarked Articles". Washington University Law Quarterly . 24 (2): 238. Jan 1, 1939.
  21. O'Neil, Michael (July 1, 1965). "Patents – Contributory Infringement – History and Trend: Convertible Top Cases". DePaul Law Review. 14 (2). DePaul University: 473–478. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  22. Kan, Michael (July 8, 2021). "Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Publicly Backs Right to Repair". PC Mag. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  23. Gault, Matthew (4 January 2021). "It Is Time, Yet Again, to Beg for the Right to Repair". www.vice.com. Vice Media Group. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  24. Mirr, Nicholas A. (Jul 1, 2020). "Defending the Right to Repair: An Argument for Federal Legislation Guaranteeing the Right to Repair". Iowa Law Review. 105 (5): 2393–2424. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  25. Stohr, Greg; Decker, Susan (May 30, 2017). "U.S. Supreme Court Curbs Patent-Holder Power to Block Resale". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  26. Weatherbed, Jess (2022-08-11). "Bricked Epson printers make a strong case for user repairability". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  27. 1 2 Hatta, Masayuki (15 August 2020). "The Right to Repair, the Right to Tinker, and the Right to Innovate". Annals of Business Administrative Science. 19 (4): 143–157. doi: 10.7880/abas.0200604a . S2CID   225397805.
  28. "Automotive Group Testifies Against Right to Repair Act Bill". Autoparts Report. Vol. 15, no. 21. Gale Group Inc. August 6, 2002.
  29. How the clean air act affects auto repair. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. 28 June 2005. pp. 18–19. ISBN   9780160754074 . Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  30. Statista Research Department (Feb 5, 2021). "Automotive electronics cost as a percentage of total car cost worldwide from 1970 to 2030". Statista. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  31. Borg, Kevin L. (2007). Auto Mechanics: Technology and Expertise in Twentieth-Century America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   9780801894855.
  32. Stanton, Chris (30 December 2022). "The DIY D-Day A movement taking on the likes of Apple is winning a major battle for consumers". NY Magazine .
  33. 1 2 3 Weins, Kyle (February 13, 2014). "You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Repair Your Car". The Atlantic . Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  34. Reardon, Marguerite (August 1, 2014). "President signs cell phone unlocking bill into law". CNET.
  35. Stoltz, Mitch (26 October 2018). "New Exemptions to DMCA Section 1201 Are Welcome, But Don't Go Far Enough". Electronic Frontier Foundation.
  36. 1 2 Stone, Maddie (February 20, 2021). "Why France's New Tech 'Repairability Index' Is a Big Deal". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  37. Espiner, Tom; Wearn, Rebecca (July 1, 2021). "Right to repair rules will extend lifespan of products, government says". BBC . Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  38. "Colorado becomes 1st to pass 'right to repair' for farmers". AP News. 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  39. 1 2 3 Robertson, Adi (2023-05-24). "Right-to-repair rules are now the law in Minnesota". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  40. Elizabeth Lopatto (October 10, 2023). "Right-to-repair is now the law in California / California to the rest of the US: You're welcome!". The Verge . Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  41. 1 2 Khalid, Amrita (2024-04-23). "The EU's new right-to-repair rules make companies fix your device after a warranty expires". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  42. "EU's new right-to-repair rules force companies to repair out-of-warranty devices". Engadget. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  43. Fitzpatrick, Alex (June 22, 2017). "Hand Me That Wrench: Farmers and Apple Fight Over the Toolbox". Time . Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  44. Said, Carolyn (20 May 2022). "Broken laptop? How California's right-to-repair movement is trying to make it easier to fix your electronics". San Francisco Chronicle . San Francisco . Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  45. Koebler, Jason (February 25, 2017). "The Video Game Industry Is Lobbying Against Your Right to Repair Consoles". Vice (news). Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  46. Koebler, Jason (February 18, 2021). "John Deere Promised Farmers It Would Make Tractors Easy to Repair. It Lied". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  47. Kottasová, Michelle Toh, Ben Geier and Ivana. "Apple is facing lawsuits over iPhone slowdown controversy". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2018-07-14.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  48. Kirby, Jen (December 28, 2017). "Apple admitted it's slowing down certain iPhones". Vox. Archived from the original on 2018-07-15. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  49. Warren, Tom; Statt, Nick (December 20, 2017). "Apple confirms iPhones with older batteries will take hits in performance". The Verge . Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  50. Vomiero, Jessica (March 30, 2018). "You can now disable the feature that lets Apple slow down your phone, but should you?". Global News . Archived from the original on 2018-07-15. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  51. Stevens, Matt (December 28, 2017). "Accused of Slowing Old iPhones, Apple Offers Battery Discounts". The New York Times . Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  52. Koebler, Jason (December 21, 2017). "Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right to Repair Laws". Vice . Archived from the original on September 15, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  53. Kastrenakes, Jacob (May 1, 2018). "Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony warned by FTC about potentially illegal product warranties". The Verge . Archived from the original on July 5, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  54. Liao, Shannon (April 10, 2018). "FTC warns console and smartphone makers against limiting consumer warranties". The Verge . Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  55. Kim, Matt (May 9, 2018). "Nintendo, Sony Update Their Warranty Following Warning From the FTC". USGamer . Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  56. Carman, Ashley (April 25, 2018). "E-waste recycler must serve 15-month sentence for selling discs with free Microsoft software". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  57. Rogers, Kaleigh (January 31, 2017). "The 'Right to Repair' Movement Is Being Led by Farmers". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  58. Koebler, Jason (11 September 2018). "Farmer Lobbying Group Sells Out Farmers, Helps Enshrine John Deere's Tractor Repair Monopoly". Vice. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020.
  59. Koebler, Jason (October 25, 2018). "In Groundbreaking Decision, Feds Say Hacking DRM to Fix Your Electronics Is Legal". Vice . Archived from the original on October 26, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  60. Robertson, Adi (October 27, 2021). "The US Copyright Office just struck a blow for the right to repair". The Verge . Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  61. Kelly, Makena (March 27, 2019). "Elizabeth Warren comes out in support of a national right-to-repair law". The Verge . Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  62. Potuck, Michael (2020-02-06). "Apple comes under fire for Independent Repair Program contract that lawyers are calling 'crazy'". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  63. 1 2 Gault, Matthew (December 14, 2018). "Protesters Are Slowly Winning Electronics Right-to-Repair Battles in Europe". Vice . Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  64. Matsakis, Louise (July 5, 2017). "The European Parliament Wants Europeans to Have the Right to Repair". Vice . Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  65. Harriban, Roger (October 1, 2019). "EU brings in 'right to repair' rules for appliances". BBC. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  66. Peltier, Elian (March 12, 2020). "Europe Wants a 'Right to Repair' Smartphones and Gadgets". The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  67. Goode, Lauren (May 19, 2020). "Right-to-Repair Groups Fire Shots at Medical Device Manufacturers". Wired . Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  68. "Introducing the World's Largest Medical Repair Database, Free for Everyone". iFixit. 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  69. Janzer, Cinnamon (15 December 2020). "What Massachusetts' New Right-to-Repair Law Means for Small Auto Repair Shops". nextcity.org. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  70. Hiawatha Bray (June 14, 2023). "Federal government warns carmakers not to comply with Mass. right-to-repair law". The Boston Globe .
  71. Porter, Jon (May 7, 2021). "FTC report blasts manufacturers for restricting product repairs". The Verge . Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  72. Goode, Lauren (July 9, 2021). "Joe Biden Wants You to Be Able to Fix Your Own Damn iPhones". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  73. Ahl, Jonathan. "Right To Repair Mandate From Biden Might Help Farmers Fix Their Own Equipment". www.harvestpublicmedia.org. Archived from the original on 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  74. Breuninger, Kevin; Feiner, Lauren (July 9, 2021). "Biden signs order to crack down on Big Tech, boost competition 'across the board'". CNBC . Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  75. Sullivan, Kate; Fung, Brian; Klein, Betsy (July 9, 2021). "Biden signs sweeping executive order that targets Big Tech and aims to push competition in US economy". CNN . Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  76. Kelly, Makena (July 21, 2021). "FTC pledges to fight unlawful right to repair restrictions". The Verge . Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  77. Iyengar, Rishi (November 17, 2021). "Apple will let iPhone users repair their own devices". CNN . Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  78. Apple's self service repair program got released, let's check it out , retrieved 2022-08-29
  79. Davis v. Southern Energy Homes, Inc. 305 F.3d 1268 (11th Cir. 2002)
  80. Mikolajczak, Chloé (2020-06-04). "Apple crushes one-man repair shop in Norway's Supreme Court, after three-year battle". Right to Repair Europe. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  81. Purdy, Kevin (2022-12-20). "Framework, Noctua, and other brands add official 3D models to Printables". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  82. Faulkner, Cameron (2022-12-29). "New York breaks the right to repair bill as it's signed into law". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  83. "New York's governor signs watered-down right-to-repair bill". Engadget. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  84. Cunningham, Andrew (2022-12-29). "New York governor signs modified right-to-repair bill at the last minute". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  85. Miller, Monica (2023-01-08). "US farmers win right to repair John Deere equipment". BBC News. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  86. Yang, Luyi; Jin, Chen; Zhu, Cungen (2023-01-19). "Research: The Unintended Consequences of Right-to-Repair Laws". Harvard Business Review. ISSN   0017-8012 . Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  87. Jin, Chen; Yang, Luyi; Zhu, Cungen (February 2023). "Right to Repair: Pricing, Welfare, and Environmental Implications". Management Science. 69 (2): 1017–1036. doi:10.1287/mnsc.2022.4401. ISSN   0025-1909.
  88. "SB-244 Right to Repair Act". September 15, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  89. Elizabeth Lopatto (October 10, 2023). "Right-to-repair is now the law in California / California to the rest of the US: You're welcome!". The Verge . Retrieved October 10, 2023.