← Back to news feed
"Kyle is one of many farmers in the US fighting for the right to repair their equipment. He and others are getting behind Nebraska’s “Fair Repair” bill, which would require companies to provide consumers and independent repair shops access to service manuals, diagnostic tools and parts so they aren’t limited to a single supplier. They have an unlikely ally: repair shops for electronic items like iPhones, tablets and laptops who struggle to find official components and information to fix broken devices. This means the bill could benefit not just farmers but anyone who owns electronic goods. There’s also a benefit to the environment, as it would allow for more refurbishment and recycling instead of sending equipment to the landfill,"
The right to repair movement is making headlines once again as 8 states prepare to hopefully pass right to repair legislation early next year. The movement is seeing a severe backlash from the big tech and agriculture lobbies who have vested interests in disallowing farmers to repair their farm machinery, but cite intellectual property, safety and security concerns as their primary reasons for not allowing owners to carry out their own repairs. John Deere go one step further in their stance on movement claiming that farmers have no right to repair their own machines as the farmers do not own the tractors they pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for. They claim that farmers, rather than paying for ownership of their equipment are paying for a “license to operate the vehicle”. That's a pretty galling move but we are glad to see that this contempt and disregard shown by John Deere in particular, is not being tolerated by ordinary people and the farming community.
To read the full article, click HERE
the right to repair movement takes on apple and john deere in nebraska
Posted: August 18 2017
Photograph: Olivia Solon for the Guardian
"Kyle is one of many farmers in the US fighting for the right to repair their equipment. He and others are getting behind Nebraska’s “Fair Repair” bill, which would require companies to provide consumers and independent repair shops access to service manuals, diagnostic tools and parts so they aren’t limited to a single supplier. They have an unlikely ally: repair shops for electronic items like iPhones, tablets and laptops who struggle to find official components and information to fix broken devices. This means the bill could benefit not just farmers but anyone who owns electronic goods. There’s also a benefit to the environment, as it would allow for more refurbishment and recycling instead of sending equipment to the landfill,"
The right to repair movement is making headlines once again as 8 states prepare to hopefully pass right to repair legislation early next year. The movement is seeing a severe backlash from the big tech and agriculture lobbies who have vested interests in disallowing farmers to repair their farm machinery, but cite intellectual property, safety and security concerns as their primary reasons for not allowing owners to carry out their own repairs. John Deere go one step further in their stance on movement claiming that farmers have no right to repair their own machines as the farmers do not own the tractors they pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for. They claim that farmers, rather than paying for ownership of their equipment are paying for a “license to operate the vehicle”. That's a pretty galling move but we are glad to see that this contempt and disregard shown by John Deere in particular, is not being tolerated by ordinary people and the farming community.
To read the full article, click HERE