{"id":19195,"date":"2016-02-08T12:22:47","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T17:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=19195"},"modified":"2016-02-08T12:22:47","modified_gmt":"2016-02-08T17:22:47","slug":"what-does-copyright-have-to-do-with-your-right-to-repair-plenty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/what-does-copyright-have-to-do-with-your-right-to-repair-plenty\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does Copyright Have To Do With Your Right To Repair? Plenty…"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n An available, efficient repair infrastructure could\u00a0contribute significantly to a reduced waste stream: why toss and replace when you can fix it<\/a>? Right? Unfortunately, not only have we gotten out of that mindset (because of cheaply available products often made under less-than-ideal conditions), but, in many cases, we’re prevented from repairing products by manufacturers.<\/p>\n Really? If you’ve paid for a product, don’t you have a right to repair it? Not if that repair would require access to installed software that helps run a product: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows manufacturers to keep that intellectual property<\/a> locked up. So, you may be limited to approved repair shops, or repair may just not be an option.<\/p>\n Neither of these options contributes to an “available, efficient repair infrastructure,” and that generally means more electronics, appliances, and other devices heading to the landfill, or even to recycling before it’s necessary. The Repair Association<\/a>, formed in 2013, serves as a lobbying\/advocacy group for consumers’ right to repair, and access of all repair professionals to the information necessary to fix products. Executive director\u00a0Gay Gordon-Byrne told Motherboard<\/a><\/em> that, regardless of the kind of product, the problem boils down to two current realities:<\/p>\n Both of these facts greatly limit competition, which keeps repair prices high. As you might expect, many of us just buy new… and guess who that benefits. The Repair Association, which is supported by a wide variety of repair-focused organizations, believes that repealing the section of the DMCA that hinders tinkering and repairs, and passing laws requiring open access to parts, would go a long ways towards making repair, whether by consumers or small “mom and pop” shops, a much more viable option.<\/p>\n Tried to repair devices only to run into manufacturer-installed roadblocks? Tossed items that you knew could be repaired, but didn’t think it was worth the effort? Tell us your stories in the comments…<\/p>\n\n