In February 2024, the European Union has adopted the “right to repair”: the Directive on “common rules promoting the repair of goods”.
The “Right to Repair” regulation adopted by the European Union introduces several significant provisions aimed at promoting the repair of household appliances and electronic devices, thus advancing consumer rights, encouraging sustainable consumption, and supporting the objectives of the European Green Deal. Here’s a summary of the key rights and measures introduced by this regulation:
1. Extended Right to Repair Beyond Warranty: Consumers in the EU now have the right to have their devices, including mobile phones, repaired even after the warranty has expired, making repair a viable option over disposal.
2. Mandatory Repair Obligation for Manufacturers: The law mandates manufacturers to repair common household products such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and smartphones. This list may be expanded through the Ecodesign regulation.
3. Regulatory Pushback Against Restrictive Practices: The inclusion of smartphones in the regulation addresses the issue of manufacturers like Apple, who have historically hindered third-party repairs by linking software to hardware parts, thereby promoting a more competitive repair market.
4. Extended Legal Warranty for Repaired Products: In some EU countries, products repaired under warranty have their legal warranty extended by an additional year, incentivizing consumers to opt for repair over replacement.
5. Transparency and Consumer Rights: Sellers are required to inform customers about their right to repair. Consumers may also be entitled to a loan device during repairs or opt for a refurbished replacement. Additionally, indicative repair prices must be made available online.
6. Reasonable Repair Fees: The law includes a mandate for “reasonable” repair fees, ensuring that the cost of repairs is kept affordable for consumers.
7. Incentives for Repair Services: EU member states are obliged to introduce measures to encourage consumers to opt for repair services. These could include repair vouchers, funds, or VAT reductions, aimed at making repair more attractive and accessible.
8. European Repair Platform: The establishment of a European repair platform will facilitate easier access for consumers to find repair services, boosting the repair market and supporting local and small repair businesses.
9. Prohibition of Repair Barriers: Manufacturers are prohibited from using contractual, hardware, or software barriers that impede repair, such as preventing the use of second-hand, compatible, or 3D-printed spare parts by independent repairers.
10. Member States’ Obligations: EU countries have a two-year window to transpose the directive into national law, ensuring uniform implementation across the union.
This regulation represents a comprehensive approach to promoting repair over replacement, aligning with broader EU goals of sustainable consumption, reducing waste, and combating climate change by minimizing the environmental impact of discarded electronics and appliances.
While these steps are progress in the right direction, we should already start considering the next stage in repairability.
This could consist in requiring that every company which reaches a certain threshold in sales or in turnover to create 3D printing templates or models for spare parts of the products they sell. The 3D printing industry has seen several breakthroughs in recent years, becoming capable of not only printing in different materials, but also, a blend of different materials.
Thus, while every company should be required to provide spare parts for their products for a certain number of years (see the provisions of the new Directive above), once that deadline is reached, some consumers might find it difficult to find spare parts for their products. Upon expiration of the deadline for repairability, the original company would be required to release the “official” 3D printing schematics of their spare parts, making it possible for consumers to acquire the parts from third-party manufacturers. While there is already a provision in the Directive that forbids manufacturers to prevent third-party companies to 3D print spare parts, this new right would ensure that consumers would always be able to find spare parts, even for products with low spare parts demand. There is a cost associated to creating a 3D printing model for spare parts, which may be a barrier for third-party companies, as they would not invest money in creating 3D printing models if they aren’t sure to get a return on their investment. If manufacturers are obliged to release an official 3D printing template once the right to repair expires, it would make it much easier for third parties to acquire these templates and provide their 3D printing services for those parts.
Finally, this provision also covers bankruptcies. Imagine if you buy a product from a company, and the company goes bankrupt after a year. This could prevent you from accessing your “right to repair”. If companies are required to create 3D printing templates for any product they produced, they could be also required to release them open-source in case of bankruptcies.
