Today is not one of those days where it feels like nothing will ever change and you have to tolerate mediocrity, because Public Knowledge announced that the US Copyright Office granted an exemption request to allow McDonald’s franchise owners to hire a third-party to repair their McFlurry and soft serve ice cream machines. Previously, franchise owners were legally prohibited from hiring outside businesses due to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which made it illegal to bypass digital locks on copyrighted devices. This recent exemption now allows for third-party repairs, addressing the long-standing issue of waiting for approved repair persons from McDonald’s corporation. The Federal Trade Commission intervened in 2021 and directed new regulations to allow consumers to repair their own devices legally. iFixit, who previously conducted a teardown of a McDonald’s ice cream dispenser, worked with Public Knowledge to obtain the copyright exemption, enabling repairs to be made on easily replaceable parts without violating federal copyright laws. They also created a video explaining the machine’s inner workings in more detail.
