Uncle Sam backs right-to-repair battle against Big Ag's John Deere
- Reference: 1676507411
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/02/16/doj_deere_repair/
- Source link:
The case, filed June 1, 2022, represents a consolidation of six lawsuits against Deere & Company, maker of John Deere farm machinery – three from Illinois, and one each from [1]Alabama , Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
The combined complaint alleges that Deere & Company and its affiliated dealerships have attempted to unlawfully control the repair of John Deere equipment, such as tractors and combines, using onboard computers known as electronic control units, or ECUs.
[2]
The ag giant and its dealerships, the complaint contends, monopolize and restrain the market for repair and maintenance services by designing John Deere equipment to require company-controlled software for the diagnosis of problems and for maintenance functions. This critical software is only available to authorized technicians, leaving independent repair shops and farmers unable to service John Deere equipment.
[3]
[4]
Deere & Company in [5]response [PDF] to the complaint has largely denied the allegations.
The farm equipment maker, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, filed a motion to have the complaints against it dismissed. It claims that it didn't deceive customers about its repair policies and that market competition for the sale of farm equipment negates Deere's control of the repair industry.
[6]John Deere signs right to repair agreement with US ag lobbyists
[7]Software fees to make up 10% of John Deere's revenues by 2030
[8]Food security group, Linux Foundation working on crop data standard
[9]Oh Deere: Farm hardware jailbroken to run Doom
The Justice Department in its [10]statement of interest [PDF] opposes that motion, stating that Deere is wrong based on the Supreme Court 1992 decision Kodak Co. v. Image Technical Services, Inc. Essentially, the DoJ is saying that the law doesn't allow businesses to declare that product sale and repair markets are unrelated for purposes of antitrust law.
The DoJ filing spells out the rationale for supporting the right for product buyers to repair the goods they purchase.
[11]
Repair restrictions, the filing says, can harm the public and consumers in at least three ways. First, they can drive independent repair shops out of business, thereby reducing consumer choice. Second, they can delay repairs, which can cause harm in time-critical operations like farming. Third, they can raise costs and reduce quality.
"These repair restrictions can worsen the pressures that farmers increasingly face, the DoJ filing states. "For the past three decades, for instance, US agriculture has required growing investment in equipment – a substantial fixed cost that can be hard to defray. And since 2014, falling commodity and farmland prices have forced a historic uptick in family farmer bankruptcies nationwide."
The government statement shows that the Justice Department is taking the Biden Administration's [12]July 9, 2021 Executive Order to promote competition seriously.
[13]
Faced with growing pressure from the right to repair movement, Deere & Company in January [14]signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation that "ensures farmers' and ranchers' right to repair their own farm equipment."
Right to repair advocates have expressed skepticism, however, because the deal is voluntary and contains no enforcement. The Public Interest Research Group's Right to Repair Campaign Director Kevin O’Reilly responded to the announcement by [15]saying despite the agreement, legislation is still necessary to protect farmers.
Willie Cade, a board member of [16]Repair.org , specializing in Agricultural Right to Repair, told The Register that he is glad to see the Justice Department supporting President Biden's Executive Order.
He added, "Deere is acting contrary to the [17]Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements " that compel makers of vehicles and engines to make emission control diagnostic systems accessible for repairs and is "unfairly profiting from legally mandated emission control systems." ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/25/john_deere_right_to_repair_lawsuits/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y@24c-cNptJKfXnJAoSgFAAAAAo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y@24c-cNptJKfXnJAoSgFAAAAAo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y@24c-cNptJKfXnJAoSgFAAAAAo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.415798/gov.uscourts.ilnd.415798.103.0.pdf
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/09/john_deere_repair_mou/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/12/deere_software_revenues/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/15/cgiar_linux_foundation/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/16/john_deere_doom/
[10] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.415798/gov.uscourts.ilnd.415798.120.0.pdf
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y@24c-cNptJKfXnJAoSgFAAAAAo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/07/09/executive-order-on-promoting-competition-in-the-american-economy/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y@24c-cNptJKfXnJAoSgFAAAAAo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/09/john_deere_repair_mou/
[15] https://pirg.org/media-center/statement-farm-bureau-signs-right-to-repair-deal-with-john-deere/
[16] http://repair.org/
[17] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/7521
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
“The farm equipment maker, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment,”
So they replied after some unspecified delay…?
And hardware DRM
Besides needing to take the tractor to a John Deere dealer to even get "check engine light" stle codes read out, they also use DRM (rights restriction chips). Oddly, you can actually get grey market eastern European ECU software and then use free software for diagnosis and buy off the shelf parts. (For example, buy a $70 Bendix fuel injector instead of paying John Deere like $500+ for the same injector with a rights restriction chip on it). Of course John Deere would claim it's black market software, but once you own your tractor you can do whatever the f' you want to it so they can void the warranty but othewise don't get to have a say in it.
The US Gov't passed rules in the mid or late 1970s restricting car companies from this kind of shenanigans (requiring all parts and service to come from the dealership, restricting non-dealerships from getting diagnostic info from the vehicle anjd from getting vehicle service manuals and specs, etc.) For cars that includes that car companies cannot void the warranty for using aftermarket parts (of course they're off the hook if a low quality aftermarket part directly caused whatever you are going in to have repaired, but other than that...) iI don't think anyone back then imagined a tractor company would decide to try the same type of BS.
It’s about increased profits, of course
But.
Wouldn’t you sell more base units if they could be repaired by anyone?
I can get my Ford repaired almost anywhere. That’s a plus for me.
I wouldn’t buy a Tesla because they have a closed service loop.
Re: It’s about increased profits, of course
They make a substantial amount of their profit on parts and repair services.
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair