New York could become first state with a ‘Right to Repair’ law
"Right to repair" always seems a weak formulation. It's great to have
"rights" but people don't always care to exercise them, and can be
dissuaded from exercising them.Right To Repair sounds nice. It alliterates. But of course we have a
right to repair our stuff. That goes without saying.What's really at issue is a duty upon manufacturer's not to obstruct
the four R's, to;- refuse- reuse- repair- recycleLet's get specific, instead of a wishy "rights" formulation.No technology must ever by soft-mandated or made a dependency so as to
preclude an ethical, environmental or economic choice to not partake
in its use, or to substitute other choices.No technology should be encumbered with locks, licenses or mechanisms
that affect the post-sale rights of its owner to repurpose or modify
as they see fit (all other safety and contention (RF) issues can be
dealt with at a another layer of legislation and enforcement.)No impediment shall be made to the access, manufacture and distribution
of spare parts or consumables, software updates, power supplies,
connectors etcDesigns should not, by the use of adhesives, welding, non-standard
fixings, unnecessary integration, traps, and fuses, prevent the easy
disassembly and reuse of modular components.