Freedom to Repair Act of 2022

Bill: 117-hr-6566
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Jones, Mondaire [D-NY-17]
Introduced: 2022-02-02
Policy area: Commerce
Latest action: action_date: 2022-02-02
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-02-02
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Freedom to Repair Act of 2022</strong></p> <p>This bill exempts actions related to the repair of digital electronic equipment from certain copyright-related prohibitions. </p> <p>Generally, current federal copyright law prohibits (1) circumventing technological measures (e.g., copy protection technology) that effectively control access to a copyright-protected work; or (2) trafficking (e.g., manufacturing or importing) in products, technologies, or services primarily designed or produced for such acts of circumvention. </p> <p>Under this bill, such an act of circumvention or trafficking shall not be prohibited if the act is for the purpose of diagnosing, maintaining, or repairing digital electronic equipment. However, this bill shall not apply to (1) a manufacturer or distributor of a medical device or digital electronic product (or embedded software) manufactured for use in a medical setting, or (2) any product or service offered by such a manufacturer or distributor.</p>

tv_txt: I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6566 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 2, 2022 Mr. Jones (for himself and Mrs. Spartz ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide for the diagnosis, maintenance, and repair of certain digital electronic equipment.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Freedom to Repair Act of 2022 . 2. Diagnosis, maintenance, and repair of certain digital electronic equipment Section 1201 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (l) Diagnosis, maintenance, and repair of digital electronic equipment (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a)(1)(A), it is not a violation of that subsection for a person, for the purpose of the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of digital electronic equipment, to circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a)(2), it is not a violation of that subsection for a person, for the purpose of the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of digital electronic equipment, to manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof described in that subsection. (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b)(1), it is not a violation of that subsection for a person, for the purpose of the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of digital electronic equipment, to manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof described in that subsection. (4) Nothing in this subsection applies to manufacturers or distributors of a medical device as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 321(h)) or a digital electronic product or embedded software manufactured for use in a medical setting including diagnostic, monitoring, or control equipment or any product or service that they offer. (5) For the purposes of this subsection, the term digital electronic equipment means any product dependent, in whole or in part, upon attached or embedded digital electronics to function. .