FTC sues farm equipment manufacturer for unfairly raising repair costs by limiting access to repair software tools to authorized dealers
On January 15, 2025,
FTC, States Sue Deere & Company to Protect Farmers from Unfair Corporate Tactics, High Repair Costs | Federal Trade Commission
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/ftc-states-sue-deere-company-protect-farmers-unfair-corporate-tactics-high-repair-costs
US FTC sues Deere over equipment repair restrictions | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-ftc-sues-deere-over-equipment-repair-restrictions-2025-01-15/
FTC Sues John Deere Over Its Repair Monopoly
https://www.404media.co/ftc-sues-john-deere-over-its-repair-monopoly/
FTC sues John Deere for 'unfairly' raising repair costs on farm equipment - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/15/24344325/john-deere-repair-right-ftc-lawsuit-tractor
In recent years, there has been a growing movement towards ' right to repair ' mandates that allow people to repair their own devices or machines themselves, or to have the repairer of their choice, requiring manufacturers to provide the spare parts and tools needed to make repairs at a fair price and prohibiting hardware or software interference with repairs.
The FTC, along with the attorneys general of Illinois and Minnesota, recently filed a lawsuit against Deere & Company, an agricultural machinery manufacturer, based on the right to repair law. The FTC claims that for decades, Deere & Company has restricted repairs by farmers and independent repairers, forcing farmers to rely on a network of authorized dealers. This unfair practice has allowed Deere & Company to unfairly increase its profits while forcing farmers to shoulder the high repair costs.
The FTC is now taking issue with software repair tools installed on Deere & Company equipment. For a long time, farmers and independent repairers were able to repair their own farm machinery, but over the past few decades, Deere & Company farm machinery has become increasingly computerized, requiring repairs to be performed using a tool called 'Service ADVISOR' provided by Deere & Company.
However, this 'Service ADVISOR' is only available to Deere & Company's authorized dealers, and the 'Customer Service ADVISOR' provided to farmers and independent repair shops has inferior performance and can only perform certain types of repairs. Also, Deere & Company does not provide general-purpose repair tool developers with the information necessary to develop complete repair tools, like automakers.
'Through the limited distribution of repair tools, Deere & Company was able to control and limit who could repair farm machinery, thereby maintaining 100 percent market share. And through its network of authorized dealers, it was able to charge higher prices for any repairs that required a fully functioning tool,' the FTC wrote.
'Restricting illegal repairs could be a devastating blow to farmers who rely on affordable, timely repairs to harvest their crops and earn an income,' said FTC Chairman Lina Khan. 'Today's FTC action is designed to ensure farmers across America are free to repair their own equipment and use the repair shop of their choice -- reducing the cost of repairs, preventing costly delays, and promoting fair competition with independent repair shops.'
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in Note, Posted by log1h_ik