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1 (September 18, 2015)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthaafou0001 and id is 1 raw text is: CRS Reports & Analysis Legal Sidebar Copyright Law Restrictions on a Consumer's Right to Repair Cars and Tractors 09/18/2015 When a consumer buys a car, truck, or piece of farm equipment, the consumer owns such physical machinery, but what about any installed software programs that help control and manage its functions? Manufacturers of cars and tractors argue that due to their contractual arrangements with the supplier of the software, the consumer has acquired only an implied license to use such software. They assert that consumers that license, rather than own, the software have no right to make any changes to it for purposes of repair or improvement; instead, they must seek out dealers and suppliers that are authorized by the original manufacturers of the equipment to perform such work. However, whether by rule or statute, this may soon change. On the surface, this issue resembles a dispute that arose several years ago over cellphone unlocking, which was the subject of a Drevious Leal Sideba r. Software in smartphones restricts them to operate only on certain cellular networks; if consumers want to use their phones with a different service provider, they would need to disable the digital lock that the software places on the phone. However, if consumers attempt to take such action on their own, without their existing service provider's permission, it would constitute a violation of copyright law (as explained below), if not for a law that Congress passed in 2014, the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act (P,, 1 1344, which allows consumers to unlock their phones to connect them to another wireless carrier. Why does copyright law have anything to do with cellphones, cars, and tractors, not to mention coffee makers, gaagc door openers, and printer toner cartridges? It is because the software that is embedded in such devices is protected by copyright law; thus, these devices contain copyrighted content. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) generally forbids anyone from disabling technological pro1ction measurs (TPM) (such as passwords, codes, and encryption) that exist in consumer products to prevent the unauthorized duplication or distribution of copyrighted materials contained in those products (such as music, movies, and software). A common example of TPM is the software encoded on DVDs that makes it difficult for consumers to easily copy or rip the copyrighted content (movies or television shows) for online sharing or syncing to a smartphone or tablet. The DMCA subjects individuals and businesses to civil and cr ,l penalties for engaging in unlawful acts that circumvent TPM. However, the statutory prohibition on the picking of digital locks is not absolute. The DMCA empowers the Librarian of Congress to issue regulations that provide consumers the right to engage in circumvention of digital locks that control access to specific classes of copyrighted materials, if he believes that persons are, or are likely to be, adversely affected (due to the DMCA's restrictions) in their ability to make noninfringing uses of those classes of materials. Proposals for such classes are submitted by members of the public during a lengthy ulemaking proceQding; the Register of Copyrights then offers her recommendations of designated classes to the Librarian for his approval. The regulations thus create exemptions to the DMCA's anti-circumvention prohibition, such that users may lawfully modify or disable the particular TPM during the three-year period for which the regulation applies. (The Librarian is required by the DMCA to issue a ruling every three years in order to ensure that the classes remain technologically and commercially appropriate.) The Register of Copyrights is currently in the process of rniductina the sixth triennia r ulem kin proceeding to determine possible exemptions. Several groups have asked the Librarian to recognize an exemption that permits the

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