I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8544 

To require original equipment manufacturers of digital electronic equipment 

to make available certain documentation, diagnostic, and repair information to independent repair providers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2024 

Mr. MORELLE (for himself and Ms. PEREZ) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To require original equipment manufacturers of digital electronic equipment to make available certain documentation, diagnostic, and repair information to independent 

repair providers, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Repair Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANU6 FACTURERS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of digital electronic 

8 equipment manufactured by or on behalf of, sold, or otherVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:01 Jul 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8544.IH H8544

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 8544 IH

1 wise supplied by an original equipment manufacturer, the 

2 original equipment manufacturer shall make available, for 

3 the purposes of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of such 

4 equipment, to independent repair providers and owners of 

5 such equipment on fair and reasonable terms, documenta6 tion, parts, and tools, inclusive of any updates. 

7 (b) PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF CERTAIN

8 PARTS.—An original equipment manufacturer shall not 

9 use parts pairing or any other mechanism to— 

10 (1) prevent the installation or functioning of 

11 any otherwise-functional part, including a non-man12 ufacturer approved replacement part or component; 

13 (2) inhibit or reduce the functioning of any 

14 part, such that replacement by an independent re15 pair provider or the device owner would cause the 

16 device to operate with reduced functionality or per17 formance; 

18 (3) create false, misleading, deceptive, or non19 dismissible alerts or warnings about parts; 

20 (4) charge additional fees or increased prices 

21 for future repairs; or 

22 (5) limit who can purchase parts or perform re23 pair services. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 8544 IH

1 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT. 

2 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COM3 MISSION.— 

4 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC5 TICES.—A violation of section 2 shall be treated as 

6 a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive 

7 act or practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) 

8 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

10 (2) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

12 enforce this Act and any regulations promul13 gated under this Act in the same manner, by 

14 the same means, and with the same jurisdic15 tion, powers, and duties as though all applicable 

16 terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 

17 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were in18 corporated into and made a part of this Act, 

19 and any person who violates this Act or a regu20 lation promulgated under this Act shall be sub21 ject to the penalties and entitled to the privi22 leges and immunities provided in the Federal 

23 Trade Commission Act. 

24 (B) REGULATIONS.—The Commission 

25 may, under section 553 of title 5, United States 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 8544 IH

1 Code, prescribe any regulations it determines 

2 necessary to carry out this Act. 

3 (C) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 

4 this Act shall be construed to limit the author5 ity of the Commission under any other provi6 sion of law. 

7 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN8 ERAL.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the chief law enforcement 

10 officer of a State, or an official or agency designated 

11 by a State, has reason to believe that any person has 

12 violated or is violating section 2, the attorney gen13 eral, official, or agency of the State, in addition to 

14 any authority it may have to bring an action in 

15 State court under State law, may bring a civil action 

16 in any appropriate United States district court or in 

17 any other court of competent jurisdiction, including 

18 a State court, to— 

19 (A) enjoin further such violation by such 

20 person; 

21 (B) enforce compliance with such section; 

22 (C) obtain civil penalties; and 

23 (D) obtain damages, restitution, or other 

24 compensation on behalf of residents of the 

25 State. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 8544 IH

1 (2) NOTICE AND INTERVENTION BY THE

2 FTC.—The attorney general (or other such officer) 

3 of a State shall provide prior written notice of any 

4 action under paragraph (1) to the Commission and 

5 provide the Commission with a copy of the complaint 

6 in the action, except in any case in which such prior 

7 notice is not feasible, in which case the attorney gen8 eral shall serve such notice immediately upon insti9 tuting such action. The Commission shall have the 

10 right— 

11 (A) to intervene in the action; 

12 (B) upon so intervening, to be heard on all 

13 matters arising therein; and 

14 (C) to file petitions for appeal. 

15 (3) LIMITATION ON STATE ACTION WHILE FED16 ERAL ACTION IS PENDING.—If the Commission has 

17 instituted a civil action for violation of this Act, no 

18 State attorney general, or official or agency of a 

19 State, may bring an action under this paragraph 

20 during the pendency of that action against any de21 fendant named in the complaint of the Commission 

22 for any violation of this Act alleged in the complaint. 

23 (4) RELATIONSHIP WITH STATE LAW CLAIMS.— 

24 If the attorney general of a State has authority to 

25 bring an action under State law directed at acts or 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 8544 IH

1 practices that also violate this Act, the attorney gen2 eral may assert the State law claim and a claim 

3 under this Act in the same civil action. 

4 SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION, LIMITATIONS, AND NON5 APPLICATION. 

6 The following rules of construction, limitations, and 

7 non-application provisions apply to this Act: 

8 (1) SECURITY-RELATED FUNCTIONS NOT EX9 CLUDED.—For digital electronic equipment that con10 tains an electronic security lock or other security-re11 lated function, the original equipment manufacturer 

12 shall make available to the owner and to inde13 pendent repair providers, on fair and reasonable 

14 terms, any special documentation, tools, and parts 

15 needed to disable the lock or function, and to reset 

16 it when disabled in the course of diagnosis, mainte17 nance, or repair of the equipment. 

18 (2) PROTECTION OF TRADE SECRETS.—Nothing 

19 in this Act shall be construed to require an original 

20 equipment manufacturer to divulge a trade secret, as 

21 defined in section 1839 of title 18, United States 

22 Code, to an owner or an independent repair provider 

23 except as necessary to provide documentation, parts, 

24 and tools on fair and reasonable terms. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 8544 IH

1 (3) TERMS OF AGREEMENT WITH AUTHORIZED

2 REPAIR PROVIDERS.—No provision in this Act shall 

3 be construed to abrogate, interfere with, contradict, 

4 or alter the terms of any arrangement described in 

5 section 5(1)(A), including the performance or provi6 sion of warranty or recall repair work by an author7 ized repair provider on behalf of an original equip8 ment manufacturer pursuant to such arrangement, 

9 except that any provision in such terms that pur10 ports to waive, avoid, restrict, or limit an OEM’s ob11 ligations to comply with this Act shall be void and 

12 unenforceable. 

13 (4) NON-APPLICATION TO MOTOR VEHICLE OR

14 MOTOR VEHICLE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS.— 

15 Nothing in this Act shall apply to a motor vehicle 

16 manufacturer, a manufacturer of motor vehicle 

17 equipment, or a motor vehicle dealer, acting in that 

18 capacity. 

19 (5) NON-APPLICATION TO MANUFACTURERS OF

20 MEDICAL DEVICES.—Nothing in this Act shall apply 

21 to a manufacturer of a medical device, acting in that 

22 capacity. 

23 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

25 (1) AUTHORIZED REPAIR PROVIDER.— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 8544 IH

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘authorized 

2 repair provider’’ means with respect to an 

3 OEM, a person that— 

4 (i) has an arrangement with the OEM 

5 in which the OEM grants to the person li6 cense to use a trade name, service mark, 

7 or other proprietary identifier for the pur8 poses of offering the services of diagnosis, 

9 maintenance, or repair of digital electronic 

10 equipment under the name of the OEM; or 

11 (ii) otherwise has an arrangement 

12 with the OEM to offer such services on be13 half of or under contract with the OEM. 

14 (B) CLARIFICATION.—An OEM that offers 

15 the services of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair 

16 of digital electronic equipment manufactured by 

17 it or on its behalf, or sold or otherwise supplied 

18 by the OEM, shall be considered an authorized 

19 repair provider with respect to such equipment. 

20 (2) DIGITAL ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT.—The 

21 term ‘‘digital electronic equipment’’ means any prod22 uct that depends for its functioning, in whole or in 

23 part, on digital electronics embedded in or attached 

24 to the product. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 8544 IH

1 (3) DOCUMENTATION.—The term ‘‘documenta2 tion’’ means any manuals, diagrams, reporting out3 put, service code descriptions, schematic, security 

4 code or password, or other information used in ef5 fecting the services of diagnosis, maintenance, or re6 pair of digital electronic equipment. 

7 (4) FAIR AND REASONABLE TERMS.—The term 

8 ‘‘fair and reasonable terms’’, with respect to a part, 

9 tool, or documentation, means at costs and terms 

10 that are equivalent to the most favorable costs and 

11 terms under which an OEM offers the part, tool, or 

12 documentation to an authorized repair provider— 

13 (A) accounting for any discount, rebate, 

14 convenient and timely means of delivery, means 

15 of enabling fully restored and updated 

16 functionality, rights of use, or other incentive or 

17 preference the OEM offers to an authorized re18 pair provider, or any additional cost, burden, or 

19 impediment the OEM imposes on an owner or 

20 independent repair provider; 

21 (B) not conditioned on or imposing a sub22 stantial obligation or restriction that is not rea23 sonably necessary for enabling the owner or 

24 independent repair provider to engage in the di25 agnosis, maintenance, or repair of digital elecVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:01 Jul 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8544.IH H8544

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 8544 IH

1 tronic equipment made by or on behalf of the 

2 OEM; and 

3 (C) not conditioned on an arrangement de4 scribed in paragraph (1)(A). 

5 (5) INDEPENDENT REPAIR PROVIDER.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘independent 

7 repair provider’’ means with respect to an 

8 OEM, a person that is not affiliated with the 

9 OEM or with an authorized repair provider of 

10 the OEM, when such person is engaged in the 

11 diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of digital elec12 tronic equipment manufactured by or on behalf 

13 of, sold, or otherwise supplied by the OEM. 

14 (B) CLARIFICATION.—An OEM or, with 

15 respect to that OEM, a person who has an ar16 rangement described in paragraph (1)(A) with 

17 that OEM, or who is affiliated with a person 

18 who has such an arrangement with that OEM, 

19 shall be considered an independent repair pro20 vider for the purposes of those instances when 

21 such OEM or person engages in the diagnosis, 

22 service, maintenance, or repair of digital equip23 ment that is not manufactured by or on behalf 

24 of, sold, or otherwise supplied by that OEM. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 8544 IH

1 (6) MEDICAL DEVICE.—The term ‘‘medical de2 vice’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘device’’ 

3 under section 201(h) of the Federal Food, Drug and 

4 Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(h)). 

5 (7) MOTOR VEHICLE.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘motor vehi7 cle’’ means a vehicle that is designed for trans8 porting persons or property on a street or high9 way and is certified by the manufacturer under 

10 all applicable Federal safety and emissions 

11 standards and requirements for distribution and 

12 sale in the United States. 

13 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘motor vehi14 cle’’ does not include— 

15 (i) a motorcycle; or 

16 (ii) a recreational vehicle or an auto 

17 home equipped for habitation. 

18 (8) MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER.—The term 

19 ‘‘motor vehicle dealer’’ means a person who— 

20 (A) is engaged in the business of selling or 

21 leasing new motor vehicles to another person 

22 pursuant to a franchise agreement; 

23 (B) has obtained a license to engage in 

24 such business under the applicable State law; 

25 and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 8544 IH

1 (C) is engaged in the services of diagnosis, 

2 maintenance, or repair of motor vehicles or 

3 motor vehicle engines pursuant to such fran4 chise agreement. 

5 (9) MOTOR VEHICLE MANUFACTURER.—The 

6 term ‘‘motor vehicle manufacturer’’ means a person 

7 engaged in the business of manufacturing or assem8 bling new motor vehicles. 

9 (10) ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER; 

10 OEM.—The term ‘‘original equipment manufacturer’’ 

11 or ‘‘OEM’’ means any person who is engaged in the 

12 business of selling, leasing, or otherwise supplying 

13 new digital electronic equipment or parts of equip14 ment manufactured by or on behalf of itself, to any 

15 person. 

16 (11) OWNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ means a per17 son who owns or leases digital electronic equipment. 

18 (12) PART.—The term ‘‘part’’ means any re19 placement part, either new or used, made available 

20 by or to an OEM for purposes of effecting the serv21 ices of maintenance or repair of digital electronic 

22 equipment manufactured by or on behalf of, sold, or 

23 otherwise supplied by the OEM. 

24 (13) PARTS PAIRING.—The term ‘‘parts pair25 ing’’ means, with respect to a part, the practice of 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 8544 IH

1 employing software to identify component parts 

2 through the use of a unique identifier. 

3 (14) TOOL.—The term ‘‘tool’’ means any soft4 ware program, hardware implement, or other appa5 ratus used for diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of 

6 digital electronic equipment, including software or 

7 other mechanisms that provision, program, or pair a 

8 part, calibrate functionality, or perform any other 

9 function required to bring the equipment back to 

10 fully functional condition. 

11 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

12 This Act shall take effect 60 days after the date of 

13 enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to 

14 equipment sold or in use on or after the effective date of 

15 this Act. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS