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 A full discussion of the interplay between intellectual property and repair is beyond the scope of this report. Nonetheless, while it is clear that manufacturers’ assertion of intellectual property rights can impede repairs by individuals and independent repair shops, in many instances intellectual property rights do not appear to present an insurmountable obstacle to repair. For instance, as to copyright law, Section 117(c) of the Copyright Act provides that an owner or lessee of a machine may make a copy of a computer program for purposes of maintenance or repair. Moreover, in its most recent exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention provisions, the Librarian of Congress has permitted the circumvention of TPMs to diagnose, maintain, or repair motorized land vehicles, smart phones, home appliances and home systems. As to trade secrets, information that manufacturers already share with authorized repair centers may not qualify for trade secret protection. With regards to other possible trade secrets, model right to repair legislation exempts trade secrets from disclosure. With respect to patent law, patents could potentially impact competitive markets for repair parts if there are valid and enforced patents protecting component parts; however, only two commenters noted that manufacturers’ assertion of patent rights impedes independent repair. Thus, it is not clear that manufacturers are readily turning to patent law to prevent independent repair shops from obtaining spare parts. B.Safety Manufacturers argue that repair restrictions protect repair workers and consumers from injuries that could result from fixing a product or using an improperly repaired product. According to manufacturers, safety risks are mitigated when repairs are performed by authorized repair persons because their contracts with such persons ensure that they have been properly trained and “have the necessary skills to safely and reliably repair products to OEM specifications and standards with OEM-quality parts.”

Individuals and independent repair shops, manufacturers assert, are unlikely to be aware of the dangers inherent in some repairs and may be injured as a result. For instance, GE Appliances explained that an untrained person attempting to repair a microwave oven could be injured because, “internal microwave oven capacitors can discharge current even when not