Right-To-Repair Rules Are Now the Law In Minnesota (theverge.com) 31
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed a groundbreaking right-to-repair law, which will come into effect on July 1, 2024. The Verge reports: The rules, part of an omnibus appropriations bill, require electronics manufacturers to let independent repair shops and consumers buy the parts and tools necessary to repair their own equipment. But the rules don't apply to some notable categories, including farm equipment, game consoles, medical devices, and motor vehicles.
The new Minnesota rules take effect July 1st, 2024, and they cover products sold on or after July 1st, 2021. If manufacturers sell a product in the state, they must offer residents the equipment to repair it on "fair and reasonable" terms within 60 days, and they must offer documentation for performing repairs and service free of charge. Failure to do so will violate Minnesota's Deceptive Trade Practices statute, opening manufacturers up to penalties from the attorney general. "This is the biggest right to repair win to date," said Nathan Proctor, who leads the right to repair initiative at public interest group PIRG, in a statement. PIRG notes that Minnesota is the first state to offer right-to-repair protections for home appliances and commercial and educational computing systems, which were carved out of New York's law. In a blog post, repair site iFixit focused on the free documentation element. "With online documentation, people everywhere in the world -- not just in Minnesota -- will benefit from this," said iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens.
The new Minnesota rules take effect July 1st, 2024, and they cover products sold on or after July 1st, 2021. If manufacturers sell a product in the state, they must offer residents the equipment to repair it on "fair and reasonable" terms within 60 days, and they must offer documentation for performing repairs and service free of charge. Failure to do so will violate Minnesota's Deceptive Trade Practices statute, opening manufacturers up to penalties from the attorney general. "This is the biggest right to repair win to date," said Nathan Proctor, who leads the right to repair initiative at public interest group PIRG, in a statement. PIRG notes that Minnesota is the first state to offer right-to-repair protections for home appliances and commercial and educational computing systems, which were carved out of New York's law. In a blog post, repair site iFixit focused on the free documentation element. "With online documentation, people everywhere in the world -- not just in Minnesota -- will benefit from this," said iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens.
Without game consoles... (Score:3)
... pc's and iphones/androids more generally Right to repair is useless, those are the devices that need the most not to be thrown out when they break and enter landfills.
Typical of the copyright lobby to shut down RTR for those devices.
Re: Without game consoles... (Score:3)
The list of exclusions does not include smartphones, tablets or computers.
Everything that apple currently sells would seem to be included.
And I bet it's Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo that were pushing for game consoles to be excluded.
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This is because Progressives never actually solve any problems. They just preen publicly about helping people, while actually accomplishing jack shit. California is another great example of this phenomenon.
Yes because we all know the republican give aways of all our culture to the copyright lobby weren't done by both republicans and democrats over the last 200 years.
Buddy its time to wake up your government doesn't work for you and you are indocrinated to lick the balls of corporate america, corporate america has been bloody blind for 200 years.
vhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Term_Extension_Act#/media/File:Tom_Bell's_graph_showing_extension_of_U.S._copyright_term_over_time.svg
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This is because Progressives never actually solve any problems. They just preen publicly about helping people, while actually accomplishing jack shit. California is another great example of this phenomenon.
That's a lovely example of projection you have there.
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Which part of it is wrong? What problems have Progressives actually solved in a meaningful way that isn't just some version of prolonging the agony at great public expense?
See CA homelessness for a perfect example. They spend billions on it. SF alone spends more than $100k annually per "unhoused" person yet the only thing they have to show for it is ever-rising levels of homelessness and drug overdose deaths.
Progressives cannot solve problems, largely because they don't want to. They'd rather keep them arou
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Progressives cannot solve problems, largely because they don't want to. They'd rather keep them around and use them as an excuse for yet more government funding, most of which will not go to it's purported cause.
And Conservatives cannot solve problems, largely because they don't want to, and they do not give a shit about anyone who isn't rich. Might be time for a revolution.
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The list of exclusions does not include smartphones, tablets or computers.
Everything that apple currently sells would seem to be included.
And I bet it's Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo that were pushing for game consoles to be excluded.
But thank Shiva John Deere is safe. Afterall, there's no farms in that state (rolls eyes).
Guess we know who has more lobbyists in Minnesota. . .
Without cars and tractors? (Score:3)
What's the point?
Gee, I wonder why those exceptions. (Score:4)
It's almost as though they're saying that you have the right to repair anything not manufactured by a company represented by a powerful lobby, such as farm equipment, game consoles, medical devices and motor vehicles. Well, at least you have the right to repair, um, your vacuum cleaner.
Re:Gee, I wonder why those exceptions. (Score:4, Funny)
It's almost as though they're saying that you have the right to repair anything not manufactured by a company represented by a powerful lobby, such as farm equipment, game consoles, medical devices and motor vehicles. Well, at least you have the right to repair, um, your vacuum cleaner.
I wonder if those other industries could sue for discrimination.
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So, are computers, laptops, mobile devices considered game consoles?
After all pretty much any device can at the least probably run minesweeper or a clone nowadays.
Not incuded in right to repair (Score:3)
Medical Devices
I wonder which is the world largest medical device company, and where it is located.
(Medtronic is in the Twin Cities)
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Medical devices are highly regulated in most of the world. Who's liable if they malfunction after a repair by a third party? It's not fair for manufacturers to be sued due to substandard maintenance and repairs by a third party. And trying to narrow down who is at fault could be problematic.
Why would they be sued if not the ones at fault?
Hospitals & medical clinics could insist on a provenance for any repaired device, that it was done by a certified 3rd party.
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Medical devices are highly regulated in most of the world. Who's liable if they malfunction after a repair by a third party?....
There are different classes of medical devices. You probably wouldn't want unauthorized repairs on a radiation therapy machine or an artificial heart. But other medical devices, such as powered wheel chairs could safely be repaired by any competent technical person.
Re: Not incuded in right to repair (Score:1)
Pretty stupid (Score:2)
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To exclude cars and farm equipment
I kinda wonder how John Deere will know when I change the tires on my tractor...and what will John Deere do about it? Remotely disable it because the tires are not 'factory approved & installed by a factory technician"?
Re: Pretty stupid (Score:5, Informative)
2. John Deere has employed DRM measures to control access to software and prevent unauthorized modifications. This means that farmers cannot alter or repair certain aspects of the equipment without proper authorization or specialized tools
3. John Deere has maintained a tight grip on the supply of replacement parts and specialized tools needed for repairs. Independent repair shops and farmers may face difficulties in sourcing genuine parts and obtaining the necessary tools, as they are often only available through authorized John Deere dealerships
4. When purchasing John Deere equipment, farmers are typically required to agree to an End User License Agreement. These agreements often include clauses that limit the ability of farmers to modify or repair their equipment themselves, compelling them to rely on authorized dealerships for any repairs.
5. John Deere has been known to void the warranty on their equipment if repairs or modifications are carried out by unauthorized personnel. This discourages farmers from seeking third-party repairs or attempting repairs themselves
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FARM LOBBY! super powerful because rural voters have more voting power than everybody else. Doesn't matter which party, it becomes a block or lose situation for the representatives and the system is geared towards the rural -- ridiculously more UNdemocratically in modern times because now 90% live in cities while in the past it was 10%.
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In MN one of the biggest sources of tax revenue is the sale of cars. Even a used car is taxed 10%; at the point of vehicle registration. Protectionism existed (used to be totally illegal to direct sell cars like Tesla) and still has a powerful for the car lobby. Also it's one of the most industrial farm states.
Touching the big power lobbies is asking for an unwinnable fight even with full Democrat party control; it goes without saying the Republican leadership here are for sale. When they are in charge you
Nothing about design in the ad (Score:2)
Thinking of iPhones. If the key parts are still all digitally signed, Apple remains the sole parts provider, and "fair and reasonable" is pretty loose. Those repair kits available for rentals in some areas don't seem like they would be cheap to purchase outright. If the tightly glued trends continue, I can see the letter of the law being fulfilled, but the third party repair market failing to be healthy.
Would a phone composed of "no" serviceable parts - even by Apple - violate these regulations?
Right to fix software bugs? (Score:3)
Useless - didn't go far enough. (Score:3)
"don't apply to some notable categories, including farm equipment, game consoles, medical devices, and motor vehicles" - Then this has no teeth. Useless.
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This is a HUGE step. It had to sneak in the dark of night in a massive omni bill to even get this far. The obvious simple solutions are next to impossible in the face of powerful forces with more money/power than any state governments except maybe NY or CA vs some of the "smaller" lobbies. BTW, when the state is too powerful the best counter tactic is to undermine the function of government itself instead of a direct open lobbying fight - hence the increased dysfunction in CA government and federal; it's a
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"don't apply to some notable categories, including farm equipment, game consoles, medical devices, and motor vehicles" - Then this has no teeth. Useless.
It's an Anti-Apple (and Android) Bill. Period.
Devil in the details (Score:2)
I'd be concerned about the retroactive nature. The bill requires parts, tools, and instructions for devices sold two years ago. Those devices may have not been designed with repair in mind (e.g. a battery may be attached in a way to make it essentially impossible to replace, certainly too costly to replace). I wonder how this bill handles that situation?
In addition, who determines what a fair price is for a tool or replacement part? I can imagine some parts were only designed to be installed with a million