Yair . . . I have been wandering around the "right to repair" cases and it seems there is some sense of understanding that when a machine is purchased the manufacturer should be obliged to provide technical and repair details in full as part of the contract . . . along with updates for the life of the machine. http://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere/ I had a glitch with my laptop and the above article is the only one I was able to save . . . just thought it may have been of interest. Cheers.
Glitch with your laptop eh? Hmmmm... conspiracy there, these companies are taking on the Microlimp business model, you look up articles about it and your laptop conveniently erases them? Coincidence? It think not.... :bash
I've been wondering when this would come up. I've never seen a law in the US that requires the manufacture to provide anything that wasn't part of a negotiated sale. The only thing implied is that the item will perform what it is intended to do. There are no statements for how long that would be and nothing to mandate support after the sale. I suppose the precedent though has run the other way with California requiring access to auto computers with OBD connectors. I would think that once that cat was out of the bag it would cripple the argument for manufacturer's control over supposed proprietary information. In my mind the law should require access to any necessary information that could be used to ensure operation of a legally purchased machine. What I've been seeing though is the new machines are providing much of the operating information within the machine itself. You don't necessarily need a lap top computer to be able to fix a machine, just a password. The lap top does make it easier but it is not necessarily going to prevent a repair. The big question would be is it reasonable to have to pay a couple of thousand dollars for the subscription to the software and the cost of the hardware to calibrate the functions of what should be your machine? John Deere does have one lawsuit on it side though. They fought the regulation in court that required machines with engines that did not meet applicable EPA emissions regulation could not be repaired with new components. Basically you couldn't buy a new engine for an old machine and the manufacturer could not continue manufacturing the old engines. You can buy a reman engine if available but the core has to be destroyed.
This has been an issue in the auto Industry for some time. There are now laws o the books that manufacturers have to provide the info but they can charge for it. Volvo has always been the tightest with releasing there stuff.