• Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de
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    5 months ago

    Ah this bit is sad. The exception only covers bypassing DMCA protections to fix your own stuff not distributing the tooling for it.

    It is still a crime for iFixit to sell a tool to fix ice cream machines, and that’s a real shame. The ruling doesn’t change the underlying statute making it illegal to share or sell tools that bypass software locks. This leaves most of the repair work inaccessible to the average person, since the technical barriers remain high. Without these tools, this exemption is largely theoretical for many small businesses that don’t have in-house repair experts.

  • Clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    That’s great, but I’m sure Taylor (ice cream machine manufacturer) will still void your warranty, and McDonald’s corporate will still tell you you’re required to have Taylor service it. There were blackboxed control bypass devices for these machines that let them run longer and self-clean better, but McDonald’s sent out a memo requiring all franchisees to remove them and only allow Taylor to work on those machines.