Oregon’s
landmark
right-to-repair
law
is
nearly
here
—
today,
SB
1596
passed
the
Oregon
legislature,
and
is
headed
to
Governor
Tina
Kotek’s
desk
to
sign
or
veto
within
the
next
five
days.
It’s
a
big
deal,
because
the
Oregon
law
would
be
the
first
to
ban
“parts
pairing,”
a
practice
where
companies
can
keep
you
from
using
components
(sometimes
even
official
ones)
unless
that
company’s
software
is
satisfied
that
they
belong.
Similar
to
California’s
right-to-repair
law,
the
Oregon
bill
also
requires
companies
to
make
the
same
parts,
tools,
and
repair
documents
available
to
any
owners
that
it
offers
to
authorized
repair
shops,
and
without
charging
any
more
for
them.
It
doesn’t
specify
a
number
of
years
that
companies
need
to
make
those
items
available,
though
—
California
mandates
seven
years,
while
the
Oregon
bill
suggests
companies
could
simply
stop
producing
them.
It
also
comes
with
typical
carveouts
for
video
game
consoles,
medical
devices,
HVAC
equipment,
energy
storage,
various
kinds
of
engines...
and
electric
toothbrushes.
Like
California
and
Minnesota’s
laws,
it
wouldn’t
apply
to
phones
sold
before
July
1st,
2021.
But
for
all
other
gadgets,
it
goes
all
the
way
back
to
July
1st,
2015.
The
ban
on
parts
pairing
wouldn’t
apply
to
any
existing
device,
though
—
only
consumer
electronics
manufactured
after
January
1st,
2025.
The
bill
passed
the
Oregon
senate
on
February
20th
with
a
vote
of
25-5,
and
passed
Oregon’s
house
today
with
a
vote
of
42-13.
Apple
came
out
against
Oregon’s
right-to-repair
bill
ahead
of
those
votes,
even
though
it
eventually
wound
up
supporting
the
California
one.
We
spoke
with
iFixit
CEO
Kyle
Weins
about
parts
pairing,
and
how
the
fight
for
right-to-repair
was
just
getting
started,
on
this
October
episode
of
The
Vergecast:
Today,
Weins
says
he’s
“beyond
proud
of
my
home
state
for
passing
the
strongest-yet
electronics
Right
to
Repair
bill.”
Original author: Sean Hollister
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