Justice Department, FTC support renewing consumer repair rights

March 14 (UPI) -- The Justice Department and Federal Trade commission weighed in Thursday with the U.S. Copyright Office supporting the rights of consumers and businesses to repair products they own.

The comments are part of a rule-making process as the Copyright Office considers whether or not to renew repair-related exemptions to copyright law.

"In the agencies' view, renewing and expanding repair-related exemptions would promote competition in markets for replacement parts, repair, and maintenance services, as well as facilitate competition in markets for repairable products," the agencies wrote. "Promoting competition in repair markets benefits consumers and workers because it makes it easier and cheaper to fix things you own."

The agencies added, "Unnecessary repair restrictions have the opposite effect. They can reduce consumer choice, raise repair costs, and drive independent repair shops out of business by denying them access to key inputs."

In January 2023, John Deere gave farmers the right to repair the company's products. That announcement followed an executive order from President Joe Biden to clamp down on unfair repair restrictions imposed by powerful manufacturers that prevent consumers from repairing equipment they own.

The Copyright Office is considering whether to recommend to the Library of Congress the renewal and expansion of temporary exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

That law prohibits circumvention of technology protection measures that control access to copyrighted content.

The DOJ and FTC said in their comments renewing these repair rights for consumers will promote competition in markets for replacement parts, repair and maintenance services.

"Promoting competition in repair markets benefits consumers and businesses by making it easier and cheaper to fix things they own," the DOJ said in a statement. "Expanding repair exemptions can also remove barriers that limit the ability of independent service providers -- including small businesses and entrepreneurs -- to provide repair services."

Technology protection measures by manufacturers are used to protect copyrighted works from theft and infringing uses, the DOJ said.

But those measures can also prevent non-infringing third-party repair, according to the Justice Department and the FTC.

Both agencies also support granting a new exemption to vehicle owners or independent shops "to allow vehicle owners or independent repair shops to access, store and share vehicle operational data."

Apple gave users the right to repair beginning in 2022.