In recent years, the Right to Repair movement has gained significant momentum both in the United States and the European Union, reflecting a growing global emphasis on sustainability, consumer rights, and the push against planned obsolescence by manufacturers.
In the European Union, the movement has seen substantial legislative advancements, with new rules aimed at encouraging consumers to repair devices over replacing them. The EU Parliament adopted strong measures to enhance the right to repair, aiming to make repairs more accessible and appealing to consumers. These measures include ensuring access to information and spare parts for all, including independent repairers and end-users, beyond the legal warranty period. The EU seeks to foster a more competitive repair market, offering consumers vouchers and other financial incentives to opt for repair??????.
In contrast, the United States has also made significant strides, particularly at the state level. Notably, New York became the first state to pass a broad right-to-repair law for electronic devices, the Digital Fair Repair Act, which went into effect in July 2023. This law mandates manufacturers to provide manuals, diagrams, diagnostics, and parts to device owners and third-party repair providers for devices sold or manufactured after 1 July 2023.
Following New York, Minnesota and Colorado have enacted similar legislation, with Minnesota’s law being notably comprehensive, covering consumer electronics, household appliances, and even devices used in business-to-business and business-to-government deals????.
Static Control recently submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in support of a Right to Repair ruling, urging “the Federal Trade Commission to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to promote and secure the right of consumers to obtain aftermarket components to repair and maintain the products they purchase, and the right of aftermarket companies to compete with OEM suppliers to produce those aftermarket components.”
In its announcement, the company added: “Static Control has and always will defend the rights of the aftermarket.”
To read the full announcement, click here.
