Straight Talks: New players, new rules - IP disruption in the automobile industry
Trade associations representing independent repair facilities have become strong advocates for expanding right to repair laws to increase member access to vehicle telematics data. These efforts have created uncertainty for...more
On May 28, 2024, Colorado became the fifth state to adopt a “right to repair” law, with Governor Jared Polis signing HB 1121, the “Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment” bill. Colorado now joins California,...more
To give consumers the ability to repair their own electronic devices, New York is leading the way in “Right to Repair” legislation with its Digital Fair Repair Act, N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 399-NN (2022). The Digital Fair Repair...more
Governor Gavin Newsom recently approved California’s SB 244, also referred to as the Right to Repair Act, positioning California as a pivotal state advocating for comprehensive electronics or appliance repair rights....more
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association representing U.S. automakers and other manufacturers, announced on July 11, 2023 that it had entered into an agreement with trade associations representing...more
On December 28, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the state's Digital Fair Repair Act into law. The Minnesota legislature quickly followed, passing its own version in May 2023. Interest in "right to repair"...more
In a June 13, 2023 filing in the Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Campbell case pending in Massachusetts federal court, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave notice that it had sent a letter to...more
On June 1, 2023, the Massachusetts Attorney General published the Massachusetts Vehicle Telematics System Notice that new car dealers in Massachusetts must now provide to purchasers of model year 2022 or later vehicles if...more
A bipartisan coalition of 27 AGs wrote a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to protect farmers and other consumers by passing Right-to-Repair legislation targeting automobiles, agricultural equipment, and digital...more
On March 24, a bipartisan group of 27 state attorneys general sent a letter to Congress, encouraging the passage of “right-to-repair” legislation to establish and secure a competitive marketplace for repairing vehicles,...more
At the close of 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the “Digital Fair Repair Act” (S4101A/A7006-B) (to be codified at N.Y. GBL §399-nn) (the “Act”). The law makes New York the first state in the country to pass a...more
On March 14, 2022, a bipartisan trio of U.S. Senators introduced a bill (S.3830) that would require manufacturers to provide the tools and documentation necessary for consumers and third parties to repair electronic...more
On March 8, 2022, the Massachusetts federal court in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healy issued a procedural order informing the parties that the court would need another month to issue a decision on a challenge...more
Massachusetts federal district court judge Douglas Woodlock did not mince words during an hour-long hearing on Thursday, December 3, urging lawyers for the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and Massachusetts Attorney General...more
With the effective date looming for changes to Massachusetts law that will require automobile manufacturers to make significant changes to telematics systems, a trade association representing OEMs on Tuesday, December 1,...more
Massachusetts voters on November 3, 2020 overwhelmingly approved Question One, a ballot initiative amending the state’s Right to Repair Law. Beginning with “model year 2022,” manufacturers who use a telematics system in their...more
On November 3, 2020, Massachusetts voters will go to the polls for the second time in less than a decade to consider a “Right to Repair” ballot initiative. Question One would amend Massachusetts law to force auto...more
While dissenting from the Supreme Court’s 1992 decision in Eastman Kodak Co. v. Image Technical Services, Inc., Justice Scalia warned that the opinion “threatens to release a torrent of litigation and a flood of commercial...more