Right To Repair Act - State Programs - Public Resources - CA

Section § 42488

This section designates the chapter as the 'Right to Repair Act,' meaning it can be referred to by this name.

This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Right to Repair Act.

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Section § 42488.1

This law aims to ensure a fair marketplace for fixing electronics and appliances by preventing manufacturers from creating obstacles that limit or block independent repair shops from making repairs.

It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a fair marketplace for the repair of electronic and appliance products and to prohibit intentional barriers and limitations to third-party repair.

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Section § 42488.2

This law requires manufacturers of electronic and appliance products to provide owners, repair facilities, and dealers with the necessary documentation, parts, and tools to repair their products for a specified period, depending on the product's price. For products priced between $50 and $99.99, manufacturers must support repairs for at least three years. For products $100 or more, support must last seven years past the last production date. This obligation does not force manufacturers to reveal trade secrets or provide the product's source code.

Repair facilities not authorized by manufacturers must inform customers they are not official providers and disclose if using non-manufacturer parts. Manufacturers aren't required to offer special tools that could bypass security without consent, or if parts are no longer produced. They are not liable for damages from repairs by unauthorized parties, unless due to pre-existing defects.

This section becomes active on July 1, 2024, and does not apply if manufacturers give free replacements that are equal or better in quality. The law also distinguishes certain devices, like video game consoles, from these requirements.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, every manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product with a wholesale price to the retailer, or to others outside of direct retail sale, of not less than fifty dollars ($50) and not more than ninety-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents ($99.99), shall make available to owners of the product, service and repair facilities, and service dealers, sufficient documentation and functional parts and tools, inclusive of any updates, on fair and reasonable terms, to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of a product for at least three years after the last date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the three-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law, every manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product with a wholesale price to the retailer, or to others outside of direct retail sale, of one hundred dollars ($100) or more, shall make available to owners of the product, service and repair facilities, and service dealers sufficient documentation and functional parts and tools, inclusive of any updates, on fair and reasonable terms, to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of a product for at least seven years after the last date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the seven-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product.

(c) Except as necessary to comply with this section, this section does not require a manufacturer to divulge a trade secret or license any intellectual property, including copyrights or patents.

(d) This section does not require the distribution of a product’s source code.

(e) A service and repair facility or service dealer that is not an authorized repair provider of a manufacturer shall provide a written notice to any customer seeking repair of an electronic or appliance product before the repair facility or service dealer repairs the product that informs the customer that it is not an authorized repair provider for the product, and shall disclose if it uses any used replacement parts or replacement parts provided by a supplier other than the manufacturer of the product.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a manufacturer to make available special documentation, tools, and parts that would disable or override antitheft security measures set by the owner of the product without the owner’s authorization.

(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a manufacturer to sell service parts if the service parts are no longer provided by the manufacturer or made available to an authorized repair provider.

(h)

(1) No manufacturer or authorized repair provider shall be liable for any damage or injury caused to any electronic or appliance product, person, or property that occurs as a result of repair, diagnosis, maintenance, or modification performed by a service dealer or owner, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(A) Any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages.

(B) Any loss of data, privacy, or profits.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a design defect or manufacturing flaw that existed prior to, or independent of, the repair, diagnosis, maintenance, or modification performed pursuant to this section.

(i) If a manufacturer is considered an authorized repair provider under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (j), this section shall not require the manufacturer to make available either of the following:

(1) Documentation or tools that the manufacturer itself uses only to perform, at no cost, diagnostic services virtually through telephone, internet, chat, email, or other similar means that do not involve the manufacturer physically handling the customer’s electronic or appliance product, unless the manufacturer also makes the documentation or tools available to an individual or business that is unaffiliated with the manufacturer.

(2) Documentation or tools used exclusively for repairs completed by machines that operate on several electronic or appliance products simultaneously, if the manufacturer makes available to owners of the product, service and repair facilities, and service dealers sufficient alternative documentation and tools to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the electronic or appliance product.

(j) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)

(A) “Authorized repair provider” means an individual or business that is unaffiliated with a manufacturer and that has an arrangement with the manufacturer, for a definite or indefinite period, under which the manufacturer grants to the individual or business a license to use a trade name, service mark, or other proprietary identifier to offer diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services for electronic or appliance products under the name of the manufacturer or an arrangement with the manufacturer to offer diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services for electronic or appliance products on behalf of the manufacturer.

(B) A manufacturer that offers diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services for the manufacturer’s electronic or appliance products is considered an authorized repair provider with respect to the electronic or appliance products if the manufacturer does not have an arrangement described in subparagraph (A) with an unaffiliated individual or business.

(2) “Documentation” means any electronic or appliance product manual, diagram, reporting output, service code description, schematic, or similar information that is provided by a manufacturer to an authorized repair provider, or that is for use by the manufacturer if the manufacturer does not have any authorized repair providers, for purposes of effecting the services of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the electronic or appliance product.

(3)

(A) “Electronic or appliance product” or “product” means a product, manufactured for the first time, and first sold or used in California, on or after July 1, 2021, described in subdivision (h), (i), (j), or (k) of Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code for which the manufacturer makes available tools, parts, and documentation to authorized repair providers, and includes products described in those subdivisions that are sold to schools, businesses, local governments, or in other methods outside of direct retail sale.

(B) “Electronic or appliance product” or “product” does not include any of the following:

(i) Equipment or repair parts as defined in Chapter 28 (commencing with Section 22900) of Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code.

(ii) A product or component of an “alarm system” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 7590.1 of the Business and Professions Code, including a fire protection system, as defined in the California Fire Code.

(iii) A video game console.

(4) “Fair and reasonable terms” means each of the following, as applicable:

(A) At costs and terms that are equivalent to the most favorable costs and terms under which the manufacturer offers the part, tool, or documentation to an authorized repair provider, accounting for any discount, rebate, convenient and timely means of delivery, means of enabling fully restored and updated functionality, rights of use, or other incentive or preference the manufacturer offers to an authorized repair provider.

(B) For documentation, including any relevant updates, that the documentation is made available at no charge, except that, when the documentation is requested in physical printed form, a charge may be included for the reasonable actual costs of preparing and sending the copy.

(C) For tools, that the tools are made available by the manufacturer at no charge and without imposing impediments to access or use of the tools to diagnose, maintain, or repair and enable full functionality of the product, or in a manner that impairs the efficient and cost-effective performance of any such diagnosis, maintenance, or repair, except that, when a tool is requested in physical form, a charge may be included for the reasonable, actual costs of preparing and sending the tool.

(D) If a manufacturer does not use an authorized repair provider, “fair and reasonable terms” means at a price that reflects the actual cost to the manufacturer to prepare and deliver the part, tool, or documentation, exclusive of any research and development costs incurred.

(5) “Part” means any replacement part or assembly of parts, either new or used, made available by a manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product to an authorized repair provider to facilitate the maintenance or repair of a product sold by the manufacturer.

(6) “Service dealer” has the same meaning as defined in Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code.

(7) “Tool” means any software program, hardware implement, or other apparatus made available by a manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product to an authorized repair provider for the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the product, including software or other mechanisms that provision, program, pair a part, provide or calibrate functionality, or perform any other function required to repair the product or part back to fully functional condition, including any updates.

(8) “Trade secret” has the same meaning as set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 3426.1 of the Civil Code, or paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 499c of the Penal Code.

(9) “Video game console” means a computing device, including its components and peripherals, that is primarily used by consumers for playing video games, such as a console machine, a handheld console device, or another device or system. “Video game console” does not include a general or an all-purpose computer, which includes, but is not limited to, a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or cell phone.

(k) This section shall not apply if the manufacturer provides an equivalent or better, readily available replacement electronic or appliance product at no charge to the customer.

(l) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2024.

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Section § 42488.3

This law allows cities, counties, or the state in California to sue individuals or entities in court if they knowingly or should have reasonably known they were violating the law described in this chapter. The penalties are $1,000 per day for a first violation, $2,000 per day for a second, and $5,000 per day for third and subsequent violations. Lawsuits must be started within three years of the alleged violation.

Any money collected from these penalties goes to the local or state legal office that filed the lawsuit. If the Attorney General collects the money, it is placed into a special fund for public rights law enforcement. This law will take effect on July 1, 2024.

(a)

(1) A city, a county, a city and county, or the state may bring an action in superior court to impose civil liability on a person or entity that knowingly violated this chapter, or reasonably should have known that it violated this chapter, in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day for the first violation of this chapter, two thousand dollars ($2,000) per day for the second violation, and five thousand dollars ($5,000) per day for the third and subsequent violations.

(2) Any action described in paragraph (1) shall be commenced within three years from the date of the alleged violation.

(b) Any civil penalties collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be paid to the office of the city attorney, county counsel, district attorney, or Attorney General, whichever office brought the action. The penalties collected pursuant to this section by the Attorney General shall be deposited into the Public Rights Law Enforcement Special Fund.

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