The Right To Repair And The Competing Interests Of Manufacturer And Consumer

The fix is in: How right-to-repair laws can improve tech and the environment. Last night, in my interview with Mike Rubio, the subject of Right To Repair legislation came up. Increasingly, manufacturers are making it harder for consumers and third parties to repair their products, prompting nationwide efforts to procure legislation mandating that they make spare parts and manuals available. The manufacturers claim that making their products repairable by consumers and others will violate their intellectual property rights. Of course, they will also make more money if the consumer has to buy a new version of the product, or have it repaired by the manufacturer. I brought up the original consumer lawyer, Ralph Nader, to show that consumers have power, if they are willing to do the work, and organize. Much of our consumer protection legislation; especially concerning motor vehicles, is a direct result of Mr. Nader's efforts. In the end, we need to ensure that the rights of manufacturers and consumers are balanced.