State Right-to-Repair Proposals Pit Consumers Against Companies

Consumers would have easier access to repairing products including cell phones, wheelchairs, and farm equipment under legislation pending in states across the country, which faces opposition by a large swath of business interests.

Proposals in at least 23 states would require electronics companies like Apple Inc. or other manufacturers to make reasonably available the tools, parts, and information needed for people to fix the products themselves or through an independent repair shop. The state activity follows first-in-the-nation laws in New York and Colorado, which address repairs for many digital electronic devices and powered wheelchairs, respectively.

Right-to-repair advocates argue consumers should have control over the items they own, and that allowing people to fix products more easily reduces electronic waste. Opponents, from John Deere equipment dealers to groups representing Samsung and Apple, have said authorized repair programs benefit consumer safety and raised concerns that the bills would violate intellectual property protections.

For farmer Danny Wood, who grows wheat and other crops in Peetz, Colorado, a pending right-to-repair proposal for agricultural equipment would allow quicker fixes for machinery such as tractors and combines, which have already cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase, he said. Wood said he’s faced long waits for technicians to solve simple issues when delays in planting and harvesting can wreak havoc on his livelihood.

“When the crop is ready, it needs to come out,” he said.

‘Tough Sledding’

Consumer organizations have coordinated a national campaign for right-to-repair legislation with a template bill to use for a swath of digital electronics. They also propose attorneys general enforce violations. State approaches differ, with some lawmakers filing broad bills, while others are targeting sectors such as phones and tablets or farming equipment.

Massachusetts a decade ago implemented a right-to-repair law for motor vehicles, but progress elsewhere has been “tough sledding” because of industry opposition, said Kevin O’Reilly, right to repair campaign director for the US Public Interest Research Group. Advocates are hopeful their successes in New York and Colorado will persuade more states to approve the policies.

“We saw the dam start to break last year,” O’Reilly said.

States adopting the template right-to-repair legislation, though, would be “interfering with federally-protected rights,” said Devlin Hartline, legal fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Forum for Intellectual Property. The four branches of intellectual property—patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets—would be affected under such measures if states imposed requirements for tools, parts, and know-how, he said.

“That has profound implications for IP owners,” Hartline said.

New York addressed preemption issues with last-minute changes to the 2022 law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), Hartline said. Modifications included removing requirements that manufacturers provide information such as codes or passwords to reset electronic locks or other security functions during the course of a repair.

A report released Wednesday by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a think tank that fights government regulation, argues right-to-repair legislation would stifle innovation when manufacturers try to comply with state mandates. The requirements would also infringe on property rights related to intellectual property and by requiring the sale of repair products, it said.

Colorado Rep. Brianna Titone (D), who led the push for the state’s powered wheelchair right-to-repair law, called intellectual property arguments a scare tactic. She noted the wheelchair law is already in effect and such dire predictions have not materialized.

“The sky isn’t falling,” she said.

Farm Equipment

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers are pushing the right-to-repair proposals, though the politics vary by state. Titone said she’s having trouble this year garnering support from rural Republicans for a bill (H.B. 23-1011) to expand the wheelchair law to include agricultural equipment.

The bill follows a memorandum of understanding between the American Farm Bureau Federation and Deere & Company signed this year to provide farmers and independent technicians with access to tools, software, and documentation. The federation agreed to “encourage” state farm bureaus to abstain from introducing or supporting bills that go beyond the MOU.

Both sides can withdraw from the agreement if any state enacts agricultural right-to-repair legislation. The MOU, though, “doesn’t go as far as the farmers want,” Titone said.

“It’s a really fragile agreement,” she said.

Colorado equipment dealers that opposed the right-to-repair bill at a committee hearing said customers already have access to repair tools and raised concerns that farmers could tamper with machinery. Wood, the Colorado farmer, rejected the idea that bill supporters want to alter their equipment.

“It’s just so we can fix the minor things and keep them running,” Wood said.

John Deere did not respond to a request for comment.

Tech Opposition

In Washington state, tech industry groups opposed a measure (H.B. 1392) addressing repairs for electronics including cell phones, laptops, and tablets. The bill poses safety, privacy, and security risks, their representatives said at a legislative committee hearing.

Personal devices such as phones and computers include sensitive personal data, said Ashley Sutton, executive director for Washington and the northwest for TechNet, whose members include Apple and Samsung. Authorized repairs ensure technicians receive the proper screening, compared to unvetted third-party services, she told lawmakers.

“These contractual relationships also ensure that bad actors can be held accountable,” Sutton said.

Across right-to-repair sectors, O’Reilly pointed to a 2021 FTC report to Congress that found “scant evidence to support manufacturers’ justifications for repair restrictions.” He argued company concerns aren’t motivated by consumer safety, but that of dollars.

“It’s really about manufacturers’ ability to lock down that repair revenue,” O’Reilly said.