FTC lawsuit against John Deere could be tipping point for more repairable hardware

Today, the United States The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against agricultural equipment maker Deere & Co., maker of John Deere’s iconic green tractors, harvesters and lawn mowers, citing the company’s longstanding reluctance to prevent customers from repairing their own machines.

“Farmers rely on farm equipment to make a living and support their families,” FTC Chairman Lena Khan wrote in a report. statement next to Comprehensive complaint. “Unfair restoration restrictions could mean farmers face unnecessary delays during tight planting and harvest windows.”

The FTC’s main complaints focus on software issues. Deere location Limitations of its operating softwaremeaning that certain functions and calibrations on the tractor can only be unlocked by a mechanic with the correct digital key. Deere only licenses these keys to its authorized dealers, which means farmers often can’t take the tractor to a more convenient third-party mechanic or fix the problem themselves. The lawsuit asks John Deere to stop its practice of limiting which repair features are available to customers and make them available to people other than official dealers.

Kyle Wiens is CEO of Repair Advocacy Retailer repair tools and an occasional contributor to Wired magazine who first wrote about John Deere Avoid repair strategies 2015.

“When you have a thing that doesn’t work, it’s not a big deal if you’re 10 minutes away from the store,” Wiens said. “For farmers in most parts of the country, if the store is only three hours away, that’s a big problem.”

Another difficulty is that U.S. copyright protections prevent anyone but John Deere from making software that counteracts the restrictions the company imposes on its platform. Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 provides that people cannot legally resist technological measures protected by it. John Deere equipment is covered by this copyright policy.

“Not only are they anti-competitive, but it’s actually illegal to compete with them,” Wiens said.

Deere in the headlights

Wiens said that although there have been ten years of push back Against John Deere farmer and Restorability Advocatecustomers who use the company’s machines don’t see much benefit from all this talk.

“Things are really not getting better for farmers,” Wiens said. “Despite years of debate over the right to repair, nothing substantial has changed for local farmers.”

He believes the lawsuit against Deere will be different.

“That must be what it does,” Wiens said. “The FTC will not reach a settlement until John Deere provides the software. This is a step in the right direction.

Deere’s reluctance to make its products more accessible has angered many customers and sparked widespread bipartisan opposition. Congressional support Restorability in agriculture. FTC charges John Deere also broke the law legislation Colorado Govt to pass in 2023 Need agricultural equipment Sold in the state to enable users to use operating software.

“Deere’s illegal business practices drive up farmers’ repair costs and reduce farmers’ ability to obtain timely repairs,” the lawsuit states.

Deere did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Nathan Proctor, senior director of the Right to Repair Campaign at PIRG, an advocacy group in the United States, wrote a statement Applaud the Federal Trade Commission’s decision. He believes that whatever the outcome, the case will be a positive step in the wider movement for rights restoration.

“I think this discovery process will paint a picture that clearly shows their equipment was programmed to monopolize certain repair functions,” Proctor told Wired. “I expect Deere will either fix the problem or pay Cost. I don’t know how long it will take, but it’s a very important milestone because once the genie is out of the bottle, it can’t be put back.