Home > WCL Journals & Law Reviews > SDLP > Vol. 20 > Iss. 2
Abstract
On March 18, 2019 California became the twentieth state to introduce Right to Repair legislation in one year. The policy objectives for Right to Repair are straightforward: advocate for federal and state laws that make it easier for owners of consumer goods to ix a device when it breaks rather than relying on the Apple store. However, since 2014, small farmers have joined the Right to Repair movement because major manufacturers, such as John Deere, have consolidated dealer networks in response to the consolidation of farming in the past decade.
While proponents for Right to Repair legislation argue that consumers should be able to repair the electronics that they own, the introduction of farming equipment has complicated the landscape by comparing apples to oranges. Right to Repair bills have classified consumer goods and equipment broadly as digital electronic equipment containing “embedded software.” Accordingly, heavy and complex machinery that contain microprocessors, such as off-highway engines, marine vessels, construction, and farm equipment, are subject to Right to Repair legislation rooted in concerns about access to service information for mass-produced consumer electronics.
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