Tag: Right-to-repair laws

Articles

Australia to seek right-to-repair legislation or regulation to allow customers to seek cost effective repairs for smartphones and other consumer goods

A ‘Right To Repair’ Law Would Put Australians Back In Control Of Their Tech | Gizmodo

Australia’s Right To Repair Moment Is Well Overdue | Gizmodo

From the horse’s mouth

Productivity Commission (Australia)

Right To Repair inquiry (home page)

My Comments

Increasingly it has become increasingly difficult to repair or have repaired manufactured goods made in the last few decades. We then end up with a situation where it is economically preferable to replace them or have them operate at a sub-par level for the rest of their useful lives. This leads to waste associated with broken goods being taken to recycling or landfill.

Lets not forget that end-users may want to modify equipment to suit their changing needs. For example, there will be the desire to upsize the RAM or storage on a computer, games console or set-top box so it can accommodate more data or run more smoothly. Or some devices may be modified for improved useability by users that have limited abilities. There may even be the idea of integrating existing HVAC systems in to smart-home setups.

Some of the limitations include limiting access to spare parts, technical knowledge and special repair tools to repair workshops and technicians approved by the manufacturer. In some cases, some manufacturers have reduced the number of approved repair workshops or technicians so it becomes increasingly inconvenient or expensive to seek repairs yourself. As well, it becomes more difficult for others including yourself to repair these items.

There is an increasing pressure to allow consumers or independent third-party repairers to repair items. This movement, known as the “right-to-repair” movement, has gained traction within the USA and the European Union with both these jurisdictions introducing legislation and regulation that enshrine this right. Even France is taking further action by having a “reparability rating” on certain classes of consumer goods like smartphones, TVs or washing machines so customers can know whether the item can be repaired and how difficult it would be to repair.

Arguments often cited for this include the ability for a device to last a long time thanks to the increased availability of replacement parts and knowledge to repair these devices. Here, it opens up the idea of independent repairers being able to repair these devices or allowing a technically-adept person to perform their own repairs. It includes the ability to see more people employed or doing business in the repair trade along with further sharing of knowledge about repairing equipment of different types including sophisticated equipment.

It could extend to the idea of a rich refurbished-device market so that devices that people need are made more affordable. This could also apply to the availability of devices that are modified for accessibility or to suit certain usage scenarios.

Over the last year, the Australian Productivity Commission has called for action to support right-to-repair by instigating an inquiry in to this topic. They have been soliciting submissions through this inquiry in order to make the best call on right-to-repair laws in this country. But it is easy to see it as being just for consumer goods like smartphones or cars.

Some submissions have expanded the scope of goods covered to those normally supplied to businesses or the public service, with the article citing devices like videosurveillance cameras or equipment to do with car-parking systems thanks to these devices being part of the smart city ideal. Here, they say that these devices are known to outlast the vendors that supply them in the order of years if not decades. It would encompass the issue of a vendor collapsing or being taken over by another larger firm, with this impacting on the supply of parts and technical knowledge for these devices.

Another commonly cited situation for “business-to-business” devices is tractors and agricultural equipment. Here, it is about whether parts or expertise is available for these machines nearer the farms that they are used on including whether that local diesel mechanic in that small town can get the tractor working properly again. This is as they are becoming more complicated to repair thanks to use of computer technology to manage engines or other aspects of the machine’s operation.

They also cited the issue of software especially firmware that allows most of today’s devices to run. There is a call to provide continual software-quality updates to this software for as long as the hardware device is to last or “open up” the hardware to third parties to provide software. An example of this is what has happened with the Linksys WRT-54G Wi-Fi broadband router where there has been the OpenWRT community creating highly-capable firmware for this device.

In this context, there was the issue of using digital-rights management to stop do-it-yourself or independent repair of equipment. Even in this case, it has to be about keeping the software up-to-date for as long as the device or platform lasts and if this can’t be achieved, opening up the device or platform to third parties.

Of course device vendors and their peak bodies are against these ideas due to them losing control of their devices to end-users and independent repairers. An example of this is Interactive Games & Entertainment Association who represent the console-based video-games platforms. Here, they don’t want this to go ahead because they see that games consoles don’t need the same kind of consumer protection as other consumer devices. But it may be that this kind of consumer protection may be about disturbing their business model with the games consoles being sold as loss-leaders with the cost made up in the games the people play on these consoles.

Luckily Australia is starting to see this issue for what it is and could set up “right-to-repair” legislation and regulation. As well, I also see this issue having impact on New Zealand due to that country being seen as the “same” market as Australia and it being easier for both the Australian and New Zealand governments enforcing the same standard of right-of-repair on both sides of the Tasman Sea.

Article

Europeans want to see the ability for people to have consumer electronics repaired by independent technicians so they can see the equipment have a long service life

EU lawmakers call for a right to repair electronic equipment | PC World

My Comments

An issue that recently has been raised in the US is “right-to-repair”. This is to allow consumers to have their equipment repaired or upgraded by an independent technician rather than a manufacturer-approved technician.

Here it’s about avoiding the need to replace equipment once it breaks down or live through a fault like a cracked screen because it costs too much to repair. It also affects the ability to see a device serve us for the long haul such as not being able to upgrade it with higher-capacity data storage or improved functionality through its service life.

It also includes the availability of repairers who can keep our equipment in good repair such as being able to take our smartphones to the repair kiosks in the shopping malls when the screen breaks or the battery dies out.

Could that church or other community organisation use this espresso machine as part of their coffee-stall fundraiser without its use being questioned by the machine’s manufacturer?

For small businesses and community organisations, there is the issue of being able to use high-quality cost-effective equipment pitched at the domestic market yet be able to seek repairs at a cost-effective price even though the equipment such as a microwave oven or premium “bean-to-cup” espresso machine  is used in what is seen by the manufacturer as “commercial use”.

There is also the issue of seeking insurance coverage for repairs done to equipment that had suffered damage, something that can affect policies that provide accidental-damage coverage or industry-specific liability coverage associated with providing services. In this case, there is more incentive to have the repair covered without any party needing to be slugged extra when it comes to premiums or excesses.

The European Union have tackled this issue under many fronts when it comes to equipment being maintained in Europe.

Here, it encompasses the availability of spare parts, tools and knowledge to independent European-based repairers, including the ability to easily dismantle the product rather than having parts like batteries glued in to it. This includes having the spare parts available for the product’s lifespan and function. In some ways I would also see it as encouraging “parts-common”design approaches where equipment uses parts that are common with prior designs or maintaining a particular design platform for a very long time but providing incremental improvements.

Personally, I would also like to see the availability of “official” optional-function modules and accessories for the product available also for its lifespan. This is important with European-designed electronics, especially television sets, where the manufacturers were providing modules to add functionality to these devices like teletext reception, viewdata terminal functionality or picture-in-picture functionality once a technician installed the required module.

The Europeans also demonstrate an interest in the “right-to-repair” issue because they want to see more European-based employment of technicians in European-based repair workshops along with the sale of second-hand equipment within Europe. Let’s not forget a call-back to European values when it comes to how consumer electronics and similar items offered in that area by European firms are designed and manufactured. It is infact something I have noticed with equipment that has a strong European pedigree like the Freebox Révolution, and the AVM Fritz!box routers or even the Revox B77 open-reel tape deck which I had regarded as the “Technics SL-1200” of open-reel stereo tape decks – a model that existed for a long time with a large parts base and given respect by personal and professional users. This is where there is an emphasis on a long service life and the ability to see a continual product-improvement cycle over a long time even for existing products.

Here, the Europeans are also using another angle to approach the “right-to-repair” issue. They want to provide an incentive for manufacturers to offer repairable products by requiring them to extend the warranty period on the product if it takes more than a month for a warranty repair job to be completed.

They also want to see some form of standard consumer-facing identification of products prior to purchase to highlight their durability and repairability. This also includes the continual availability of updated firmware for these products so there is a committment to data security but also the ability for a device to adapt to newer circumstances.

At least Europe is joining in with the USA to push for “right-to-repair” along with having equipment designed for a long service life rather than ending up as e-waste.