A new exemption allows technicians to bypass the software locks to repair commercial equipment, including McDonald’s ice cream machines|Alpha|CC BY-NC 2.0
McFlurry machines at McDonald’s could finally get easier to repair thanks to a new federal ruling allowing third-party repairs on the equipment.
The US Copyright Office has granted an exemption to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), allowing restaurants to hire a third party to circumvent digital locks to repair retail-level food preparation equipment, which includes the ice cream machines at McDonald’s.
Previously, only the manufacturer, Taylor, could unlock the machines as it has copyright over the software.
It is a win for the “right to repair” movement. iFixit (a platform that hosts tech-repair communities) and Public Knowledge (a nonprofit) filed the petition requesting the exemption. They have had similar victories with Xboxes, tractors, and smartphones.
The ruling also includes ventilators at hospitals, which have similar digital locks. Now, hospitals can hire third-party services to fix the machines without special permission.