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November 14, 2005
Right to Repair Act Stalled by a Schoolyard Fight
The "Right to Repair Act" is one of those incredibly boring, tedious legislative arguments that no one pays much attention to, yet impacts every single American who drives an automobile.
The fight is between the automakers and independent repairs shops, and invloves access to diagnostic codes aboard today's complicated vehicles. As it stands right now, independent shops say they don't have access to the codes and other information necessary to service their customers' vehicles; automakers say sharing the info could jeopardize trade secrets.
The arguments, then, are really between the automakers' rights to protect proprietary information, and the independents' argument that without the info, they are effectively out of business. While the intellectual property argument should trump the independents, by arguing that consumer choice is really the issue, the independent shops have allies in Congress.
But last week, during a hearing convened by Rep Joe Barton [R-TX], the congressman admonished both sides for failure to reach a negotiated agreement after two months of talks. Barton has sponsored the Right to Repair Act, and prefers the two sides come to a negotiated agreement.
The Federal Trade Commission also participated in the talks, and appears to back the consumer argument for giving independent service stations easier access to automaker information.
For more infomation on the Right to Repair Act, here is a site sposnsored by the coalition of independent service station owners and like interested parties.
Posted by Frank at November 14, 2005 8:29 AM | Filed under Auto News
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