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Oregon is set to become the latest state to pass a right to repair law. The Oregon House of Representatives approved Right to Repair Act (SB 1596) On March 4, two weeks after he advanced from the Senate. It is now headed to the desk of Gov. Tina Kotick, who has five days to sign it.
California, Minnesota and New York have similar legislation, but Nathan Proctor, Right to Repair Campaign Public Interest Research Group Senior Director, calls Oregon’s legislation “the best bill yet.” (It’s worth noting that Colorado also has its own right-to-repair legislation that has different jurisdiction over farm equipment rather than consumer electronics.)
If made into law, Oregon’s Right to Repair law would be the first law to ban “part coupling,” a practice that prevents individuals from replacing one part with another, theoretically equal, part. For example, someone might replace their iPhone battery with an identical battery of the same model, but they’ll likely receive an error message saying it can’t be validated or used. The system forces people to buy the part directly from the manufacturer and can only activate it with their consent, otherwise users will have to buy a completely new device. Instead, under the new bill, manufacturers will be required to:
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Prevent or prevent an independent repair provider or owner from installing or enabling the functionality of a replacement part or component of consumer electronic equipment, including a replacement part or component that has not been approved by the original equipment manufacturer.
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Reduce the function or performance of consumer electronic equipment.
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Causing consumer electronic devices to display misleading alerts or warnings, which the owner cannot immediately ignore, regarding unspecified parts.
Besides restricting the pairing of parts, the law stipulates that manufacturers must provide compatible parts to device owners through the company or an authorized service provider for the most favorable price and without any “substantial” conditions.
The parts pairing ban applies to any device first manufactured or sold in Oregon beginning in 2025. However, the law dates general coverage of electronics back to 2015, with the exception of cell phones. The number of mobile devices purchased in Oregon is counted starting in July 2021, a requirement consistent with right-to-repair bills in California and Minnesota.
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