By Nathan Proctor
Right to Repair – the idea that if you buy equipment, you should be able to access all the repair documentation, spare parts, tools and training needed to repair it – continues to make progress despite widespread manufacturer opposition.
Here are some important milestones that have been reached over the past few months:
HOUSE ADDS RIGHT TO REPAIR PROTECTIONS TO THE DEFENSE FUNDING BILL
In June, the House Armed Services Committee added Right to Repair protections to the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the must-pass legislation that funds the military and sets policy.
After a robust debate, members voted to add Right to Repair requirements to government contracts. Specifically, the amendment – offered by Reps. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) and Pat Harrigan (R-NC), both service veterans – stipulates that the Department of Defense retain “government purpose rights” to technical information and data when purchasing equipment. These rights include access to technical documentation like repair manuals, as well as software and diagnostic data. Under these rights, the government would be able to modify or repair devices without violating a contract. A manufacturer can appeal to restrict certain information, but the onus moves to the contractor to justify the restrictions.
“For decades, our service members have been forced to rely on a deeply broken system, a status quo that has made repairing equipment on the battlefield impossible,” Goodlander said. “It has threatened our readiness. It has cost American taxpayers billions of dollars, and for this reason, we have seen every service secretary that has come before this committee support our amendment and our effort to try to codify the right to repair and to fix this broken status quo system.”
MEDICAL DEVICE REPAIR EXEMPTION UP FOR REVIEW BY THE COPYRIGHT OFFICE
Under current U.S. law, Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes it a violation to bypass digital locks (called “technological protection measures” or TPMs) on devices. The intent of the law was to protect special anti-piracy or anti-cheating functions of products, but soon after manufacturers were granted these expanded rights, they began locking devices against repair as well.
Every three years, the U.S. Copyright Office reviews exemptions requests for bypassing digital locks for legal purposes. In October 2024, the office granted an exemption to bypassing locks in medical devices for the purposes of repair. Medical device manufacturer trade associations sued to stop this exemption but lost their initial case.
Over the summer and into the fall, the Copyright Office will accept and review exemption requests once again. The medical device exemption is expected to be among the most hotly contested.
DEERE POISED TO SETTLE REPAIR LAWSUIT FOR $99 MILLION
Tractor manufacturer John Deere announced in April that it had reached a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit filed against the company for restricting customers’ ability to repair their equipment.
Deere will reportedly pay $99 million to a fund to reimburse farmers for a portion of the harm caused by its repair restrictions. This is a relatively minor financial penalty. U.S. PIRG Education Fund estimates that repair restrictions from all manufacturers combined cost farmers $4.2 billion per year.
The settlement agreement also says that Deere will make tools available to “enable farmers and IRPs (independent repair shops) to diagnose and repair problems without having to use the services of an authorized dealer.”
