WIPO China: The Right to Repair - Recent Developments in the USA
本文原载于2023年第3期《WIPO杂志》。作者为伊雷妮·卡尔博利，美国德克萨斯农工大学法学院董事教授。
The article was originally published in the issue 3/2023 of WIPO Magazine. The author is Irene Calboli, Regents Professor of Law, Texas A&M University School of Law, USA.
你是否认为你自动拥有维修自己电子产品的权利？当今知识产权领域最引人入胜的一项讨论显示，事实并非总是如此。（图：megaflop / iStock / Getty Images Plus）
Do you think you automatically have the right to repair an electronic product you own? This is not always the case as one of the most fascinating discussion in intellectual property today reveals. (Photo: megaflop / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
想象一下，你最近购买了一件精密的电子产品，不幸的是，它掉到地板上摔坏了。在尝试自己修理失败后，你决定把它带到家附近的电子产品维修店。然而，在那里，你被告知这个店无权维修它。于是，你发现自己不得不回到最初购买它的商店，或者去制造商认可的另一个维修服务点。你感到很困惑，想知道维修要花费多长时间和多少钱。
Imagine you recently purchased a sophisticated electronic product, which you unfortunately, dropped on the floor and damaged. After unsuccessfully trying to repair it yourself, you decide to take it to the electronic repair shop near your house. There, however, you are told that the shop is not authorized to repair it. Instead, you discover you have to go back to the shop where you originally purchased it or to another manufacturer-approved repair service. You are puzzled and wonder how long the repair will take and how much it will cost you.
欢迎了解当今知识产权领域最引人入胜、最热门的讨论之一：关于维修权的讨论。在这篇短文中，我报告了维修权问题在美国的最新进展。
Welcome to one of the most fascinating and hot discussions in the intellectual property (IP) arena today: the discussion about the right to repair. In this short article, I report on recent developments on the right to repair in the United States.
维修权——知识产权与它有何关系？
The right to repair - what do IP rights have to do with it?
首先，什么是维修权？维修权指消费者有权直接维修其合法购买的产品，或自主选择维修服务商，而不是返回制造商或其认可的服务商进行维修。一般来说，大多数消费者认为他们自动有权维修自己所拥有的产品。然而，正如上文中的例子所示，事实并非总是如此。相反，在许多情况下，只有制造商或其认可的服务商才能维修他们所销售的产品。
To start, what is the right to repair? The right to repair is the notion that consumers should have the right to repair their lawfully purchased products directly, or by selecting a repair service of their choice, as opposed to returning to the manufacturer or manufacturer-approved providers for the repair. In general, most consumers think they automatically have the right to repair a product they own. Yet, as illustrated in the example above, this is not always the case. On the contrary, in many instances, only manufacturers or manufacturer-approved services can repair the product they sell.
知识产权在这场争论中发挥着重要作用。当今的产品通常受到知识产权保护，这些权利可以用来控制谁可以维修这些产品。在许多情况下，当今的产品带有嵌入式软件或其他技术设备，这些东西也是受知识产权保护的。在美国，《数字千年版权法》（DMCA）（分散编入《美国法典》第5、17、28和35卷的一些节里）规定，规避版权作品（包括智能手机、家用电器、医疗设备、农业机械等）中嵌入的技术措施是非法的。因此，制造商通常声称只有授权人员或制造商自己才有资格维修此类产品，以避免消费者或第三方维修商承担侵犯其知识产权的责任。这一原则适用于美国以外的地区，因为目前许多国家都在其司法管辖区内实施了DMCA式的规定。
IP rights play an important role in this debate. Today’s products are generally protected with IP rights, and these rights can be used to control who can repair those products. In many instances, today’s products carry embedded software or other technology devices, which are also IP protected. In the US, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) (codified in scattered sections of 5, 17, 28, and 35 USC) makes it illegal to circumvent technological measures embedded into copyrighted works, including smartphones, home appliances, medical equipment, agricultural machinery, and more. Accordingly, manufacturers generally claim that only authorized personnel or the manufacturers themselves are qualified to repair such products to avoid consumers or third-party repairers being liable for infringing their IP rights. This principle is relevant beyond the USA because many countries today have implemented DMCA-style provisions in their jurisdictions.
然而，近年来，一场支持维修权的运动正蓬勃发展。在美国，该运动很大程度上受到 2012年马萨诸塞州一项法律的启发，该法律允许人们有维修汽车的权利。根据这项法律，汽车制造商必须向公众提供维修手册和替换零件，方便其维修。
However, a movement strongly supporting the right to repair has been growing in recent years. In the US, this movement has been largely inspired by a 2012 Massachusetts law that allows for the right to repair automobiles. Under this law, car manufacturers must provide manuals and replacement parts to the public for purposes of repair.
知识产权在维修权的争论中扮演着重要角色，因为一般来说，我们购买的产品受到知识产权的保护，这些权利可以用来控制谁可以维修这些产品。（图：golubovy / iStock / Getty Images Plus）
IP plays an important role in the right-to-repair debate because, generally, the products we buy are protected by IP rights, and these rights can be used to control who can repair those products. (Photo: golubovy / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
最新的立法进展
Recent legislative developments
由于消费者维修权与许多经济部门都相关，美国40多个州已经开始着手制定具体的立法提案。其中包括改革有关知识产权法律的适用规定，允许维修权成为一种法律例外。如前文所述，DMCA禁止未经授权方规避数字锁和类似的技术壁垒，这代表了这一未决立法的主要障碍。尽管USCO可以批准个人的豁免请求，允许其自己进行维修，但这项立法的目的是改变目前的禁令，以便在涉及维修权的情况下不需要再提出豁免请求。
Because of the relevance of a right to repair for consumers in several sectors of the economy, over 40 states across the United States have begun working on creating specific legislative proposals. These include provisions to reform the application of the relevant IP laws to create a legal exception that allows for a right to repair. As mentioned, the fact that the DMCA prohibits unauthorized parties from circumventing digital locks and similar technological barriers represents the main obstacle to this pending legislation. Even though the USCO can grant exemption requests for individuals to make their own repairs, the objective of this legislation is to change the current prohibition so that these exemption requests are no longer be necessary for instances related to the right to repair.
此外，2021年7月9日，拜登总统签署了一项行政命令，鼓励联邦机构促进美国经济竞争。具体来说，其中一项指令是鼓励联邦贸易委员会（FTC）制定法规，禁止制造商阻止个人和独立维修店维修他们自己的设备。然而，该行政命令在维修权方面仍然不够具体，还需要制定额外的法律法规，才能在美国联邦层面有效地设立这一权利。
Moreover, on July 9, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order encouraging federal agencies to promote competition in the US economy. Specifically, one of the directives was to encourage the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create regulations that prohibit manufacturers from preventing individuals and independent repair shops from repairing their own devices. However, the executive order was still not specific enough regarding the right to repair, and additional laws and regulations will be necessary to effectively enable the creation of this right at the US federal level.
尽管如此，过去一年中支持维修权的势头仍持续增长，导致2022年底重要的突破性立法。值得注意的是，2022年12月29日，纽约成为美国第一个将电子产品维修权纳入法律的州。这项新法律将于2023年7月1日生效，被称为“数字公平维修法案”。
Still, support for a right to repair continued to gain momentum over the past year leading to important breakthrough legislation at the end of 2022. Notably, on December 29, 2022, New York became the first state in the United States to sign into law a right to repair for electronics. The new law is set to come into effect on July 1, 2023, and is known as the “Digital Fair Repair Act.”
该法案将要求制造商基于公平合理的条款向消费者和独立维修店提供大多数数字电子设备的诊断、维修信息，以及零件。为了避免前文提及的许多担忧，这项新法律将不要求制造商泄露商业秘密，并确保在设备所有者或独立维修店造成设备损坏时，不会对制造商追责。
The Act will require manufacturers to make available diagnostic and repair information, as well as parts, for most digital electronic equipment to both consumers and independent repair shops on fair and reasonable terms. In order to avoid many of the concerns previously discussed, the new law will not require manufacturers to divulge trade secrets and will ensure they cannot be held liable for damage made to the device by the owner or independent repair shop.
总体而言，《数字公平维修法案》的通过代表了维修权支持者的一次重大胜利。然而，它也提供了保障措施来解决制造商的关切，使其成为这一重要领域的开创性立法。
In general, the passing of the Digital Fair Repair Act represents a major victory for proponents of the right to repair. However, it also offers safeguards that address the concerns of manufacturers, making it pioneering legislation in this important area.
最终，尽管受到制造商的反对，但维修权存在的重要性不容低估。在美国和其他许多国家，消费者、零售商和许多行业都依赖于它。当然，这种权利还需要精心制定恰当的保障措施，特别是，在未经授权方的维修有问题时确保制造商不会被追责，以及保护消费者免受有问题维修的伤害。不过，假如这些保障措施得到满足，现行法律的改变（例如纽约州法律那样的改变）应该会在整个美国——最好是在每个国家——都受到欢迎，因为它们可以促进人们维修现有产品以及延长其使用，从而使消费者、竞争，以及可持续性和循环经济都从中受益。
Ultimately, despite pushback by manufacturers, the importance of the existence of a right to repair cannot be understated. Consumers, retailers, and many industries rely on it in the US and in many other countries. Of course, such a right needs to be crafted with due safeguards, in particular by ensuring that manufacturers are not held liable for defective repairs by non-authorized parties, and that consumers are protected against defective repairs. However, provided these safeguards are met, changes in current laws, such as those in New York, should be welcomed across the whole of the United States and ideally, in every country, as they can benefit consumers and competition as well as sustainability and a circular economy by promoting the repair, and extended usage, of existing products.
维修权的支持者认为，剥夺消费者这种权利会不可避免地导致维修行业的垄断，并给消费者带来更高的成本。他们还认为，这与可持续性的做法相悖。（图：iFixit）
Supporters of the right to repair believe that denying such a right inevitably leads to monopolies in the repair industry and higher costs for consumers. They also argue it is contrary to sustainability practices. (Photo: Courtesy of iFixit)
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Read the full article online and learn more about the right to repair.
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