Right to repair laws might gain more traction

[H4TCH3TT]

Looks like Apple could take a hit if enough of the right people pay attention to this.  Possibly good news for repair shops and end users who have iPhones since right to repair could lower iPhone repair costs.

 

https://motherboard.vice.com/amp/en_us/article/a3yadk/apple-sued-an-independent-iphone-repair-shop-owner-and-lost

[Syntaxvgm]

Repair your post.

[mr moose]

This is an interesting case, apple makes some good arguments, but if apple are genuinely concerned about the customer getting quality parts then they should make those parts available to everyone at reasonable prices or fuck off.      In Australia we have many replacements parts for cars made by third parties.  All of varying quality but none pretending to be OEM.  Not illegal and definitely give the consumer options, I don't see why phones should be different.

 

Also, not a big fan of motherboard (no particular reason), but I do like they are going to town on the right to repair issues.

 

[Syntaxvgm]

3 hours ago, mr moose said:

This is an interesting case, apple makes some good arguments, but if apple are genuinely concerned about the customer getting quality parts then they should make those parts available to everyone at reasonable prices or fuck off.      In Australia we have many replacements parts for cars made by third parties.  All of varying quality but none pretending to be OEM.  Not illegal and definitely give the consumer options, I don't see why phones should be different.

 

Also, not a big fan of motherboard (no particular reason), but I do like they are going to town on the right to repair issues.

 

The only OEM parts I've bought for my cars are from the salvage yard. 

[mr moose]

3 hours ago, Syntaxvgm said:

The only OEM parts I've bought for my cars are from the salvage yard. 

Another good option when you are on a budget.

 

[DrMacintosh]

There is a fine line between right to repair and right to steal IP. 

 

The issue, going off of how the article is written and how I perceive it, is that there is a problem of counterfeit displays being sold to people and repair shops. 

 

As a consumer, we want to be able to buy these parts to avoid costly repairs that can result going direct through Apple or an authorized service provider. (In fairness, display repairs have become fairly cheap to the point where shops doing them doesn't make much sense according to Louis Rossmann)

 

Apple as a corporation, believes it is having it's rights violated if it allows companies to readily make these screens. Further they loose profit on potential sales from all those people who theoretically should have gone to Apple for their repairs. They have to protect their IP right? Well, technically yes, but is there precedent for the opposite to be true? I believe so. 

 

So this really, the only way I see this could play out in the consumers favor is if right to repair legislation passes or if these issues get accelerated into the US to a high court and they rule it illegal for Apple to sue for using non-OEM parts in their repairs. 

 

I'm no lawyer, but if the same argument could be made for phone repair parts that was made for car parts, I bet they could win. 

 

Another way pro right to repair proponents could win is to higher Saul Goodman

 

[vanished]

46 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

There is a fine line between right to repair and right to steal IP.

No, not even slightly... those are such incredibly different things.  It's like saying there's a fine line between being allowed to defend yourself and being allowed to go on a murdering spree.  I think I know where you're coming from - that the freedoms necessary to ensure right to repair could potentially cause unintended issues for companies - but it's not a "fine line" kind of thing, it's a "you take the good with the bad".

[Lady Fitzgerald]

49 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

There is a fine line between right to repair and right to steal IP. 

 

The issue, going off of how the article is written and how I perceive it, is that there is a problem of counterfeit displays being sold to people and repair shops. 

 

As a consumer, we want to be able to buy these parts to avoid costly repairs that can result going direct through Apple or an authorized service provider. (In fairness, display repairs have become fairly cheap to the point where shops doing them doesn't make much sense according to Louis Rossmann)

 

Apple as a corporation, believes it is having it's rights violated if it allows companies to readily make these screens. Further they loose profit on potential sales from all those people who theoretically should have gone to Apple for their repairs. They have to protect their IP right? Well, technically yes, but is there precedent for the opposite to be true? I believe so. 

 

So this really, the only way I see this could play out in the consumers favor is if right to repair legislation passes or if these issues get accelerated into the US to a high court and they rule it illegal for Apple to sue for using non-OEM parts in their repairs. 

 

I'm no lawyer, but if the same argument could be made for phone repair parts that was made for car parts, I bet they could win. 

 

Another way pro right to repair proponents could win is to higher Saul Goodman

 

 

Imagine if you weren't able to buy auto parts, such as batteries, alternators, water pumps, belts, oil and air filters, oil, tires, wiper blades, etc. except from the manufacturer without voiding the warranty. The manufacturer would be able to jack the prices sky high.

[mr moose]

8 minutes ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Imagine if you weren't able to buy auto parts, such as batteries, alternators, water pumps, belts, oil and air filters, oil, tires, wiper blades, etc. except from the manufacturer without voiding the warranty. The manufacturer would be able to jack the prices sky high.

exactly.  There is a difference between IP protection and preventing people from fixing their own devices with which ever part they want.    There is no IP law that says companies can't make generic batteries that fit iphones or screens for that matter. They just aren't allowed to call them genuine or OEM.  

[DrMacintosh]

46 minutes ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Imagine if you weren't able to buy auto parts, such as batteries, alternators, water pumps, belts, oil and air filters, oil, tires, wiper blades, etc. except from the manufacturer without voiding the warranty. The manufacturer would be able to jack the prices sky high.

I touched on this perspective in my post, yes. 

[DrMacintosh]

57 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

I think I know where you're coming from - that the freedoms necessary to ensure right to repair could potentially cause unintended issues for companies - but it's not a "fine line" kind of thing, it's a "you take the good with the bad".

But then you we all already know why Apple would fight against Right to Repair because right now they don't have to take the bad at all and they don't want to ever take the bad. 

 

If Apple can avoid letting people infringing on patents, and replicating IP and selling it, they are more or less obligated to do so by share holders. Right to Repair can change that, our a court ruling too I guess. 

 

Is Right to Repair good? Yeah, but these legislators have their work cut out for them when I look at it from this perspective. 

[vanished]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

But then you we all already know why Apple would fight against Right to Repair because right now they don't have to take the bad at all and they don't want to ever take the bad. 

 

If Apple can avoid letting people infringing on patents, and replicating IP and selling it, they are more or less obligated to do so by share holders. 

Yeah, that is well known, and that's why people are finally starting to fight it.  Rather than take the bad, they just push it off onto the consumer.