GM, Ford, And Others Exploiting DMCA to Make Working on Your Own Car Illegal!

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vreihen

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A temporary reprieve from the Librarian of Congress:

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/dmca-ruling-ensures-you-cant-be-sued-for-hacking-013518209.html

DMCA Ruling Ensures You Can't Be Sued For Hacking Your Car--For Now

Forbes
October 27, 2015

There was a big win for the digital rights community today, with a ruling that ensured it was legal for anyone to tinker with their motor, their iPhone or whatever technology they’d purchased. But the freedoms will only last for three years, when the fight between anti-tinkering corporations and activists will resume, absent any major legislative changes.

Prior to today’s decision by the Librarian of Congress, car manufacturers, the most vocal being General Motors, had attempted to block an exemption, the proposed Class 21 in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that would allow anyone to play with the code that ran on vehicles they’d bought. It would do so by granting a degree of immunity from possible prosecutions using Section 1201 of the DMCA, which prohibited unlocking “access controls” in software.

GM claimed the exemption “could introduce safety and security issues as well as facilitate violation of various laws designed specifically to regulate the modern car, including emissions, fuel economy, and vehicle safety regulations”. Agricultural, construction and forestry equipment manufacturer John Deere offered a somewhat left-field opinion, claiming the exemption might allow drivers to listen to pirated music and audio books or watch copyrighted films in their tractors or other vehicle.

Supporters of Class 21, however, argued that researchers needed access to vehicles’ code to uncover potential vulnerabilities and that anyone who paid for a product should be able to alter it how they wished. Cars have become increasingly connected in recent years, providing more functionality but opening up potential weaknesses that could be exposed by malicious hackers. Tinkerers also see the added connectivity as an avenue for modification.

Their case was helped by a year that saw numerous issues raised with vehicles’ security, including a remote control attack on a Jeep and hacks of the OBD 2 port used for car monitoring and maintenance. The Volkswagen scandal, where software was used to make it appear the car was adhering to emissions standards when it was not, may also have provided more reasons to allow independent testers to probe automobiles’ code.

And, following months of protest from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the security research community, benevolent hackers and scores of other activists, the final decision was to pass the exemption. A separate decision to renew a previous exemption for jailbreaking iPhones and other mobile devices was also granted. Another ruling meant computer game enthusiasts could modify their games to continue playing them even after support was killed off.

“This ‘access control’ rule is supposed to protect against unlawful copying,” said EFF staff attorney Kit Walsh. “But as we’ve seen in the recent Volkswagen scandal - where VW was caught manipulating smog tests - it can be used instead to hide wrongdoing hidden in computer code. We are pleased that analysts will now be able to examine the software in the cars we drive without facing legal threats from car manufacturers.“

It seems the road to digital freedom is a long, winding one.
 
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Jack@European_Parts

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GM claimed the exemption “could introduce safety and security issues as well as facilitate violation of various laws designed specifically to regulate the modern car, including emissions, fuel economy, and vehicle safety regulations”. Agricultural, construction and forestry equipment manufacturer John Deere offered a somewhat left-field opinion, claiming the exemption might allow drivers to listen to pirated music and audio books or watch copyrighted films in their tractors or other vehicle.


“This ‘access control’ rule is supposed to protect against unlawful copying,” said EFF staff attorney Kit Walsh. “But as we’ve seen in the recent Volkswagen scandal - where VW was caught manipulating smog tests - it can be used instead to hide wrongdoing hidden in computer code. We are pleased that analysts will now be able to examine the software in the cars we drive without facing legal threats from car manufacturers.“


I still think reading something and backing it up for general repair purposes or R&D, is a far cry from the aftermarket tuners using this as a way to shut off emission devices. Acts like this will not and should not be an afforded protection.
If the OEM can't even do it...... why should aftermarket tuners get a free pass?

I think all aftermarket tuners that exploit the use of the DMCA, or the CAA.....further setting readiness monitors, to always ready!; and via a nefarious use of the OBD2 port, circumventing the required data protection, should be fined and enforced equally.

I'm all for motorsports and what technology it brings to the table for future development, however, I am seeing a pattern of selective enforcement.
It is time to bring motorsports back, and see these cartels which deploy/commit, these RICO type criminal networks for fraud...... brought down!
 
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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/technology/article88653497.html

Farmers lobbying for the right to fix own tractors
BY NICHOLAS BERGIN
JULY 9, 2016 10:58 AM
Lincoln Journal Star


LINCOLN, NEB. - Mick Minchow's tractors are marvels of modern machinery.

They have air conditioning, guidance systems, satellite radio and more sensors than he can shake a corn cob at, all kept running by computer systems and software.

But there's one thing the Waverly farmer doesn't have: the right to fix his John Deere 8235 R if it goes on the fritz.

Gone are the days when farmers could be their own mechanics. Just taking a peek under the metaphorical hood of the computers that run the big tractor could put Minchow in violation of the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

It's the same for digital products from cellphones to printers to concrete crushers that rely on computer programs to run.

The Lincoln Journal Star (http://bit.ly/29ojbhB) reports that Nebraska is one of four states to consider legislation that would require manufacturers to make diagnostic, service and technical information available to farmers and independent repair technicians. The others are Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York.

While the Nebraska Fair Repair Bill (LB1072) failed to gain traction before senators adjourned this spring, the issue is far from dead. It has been referred to the Agriculture Committee for study over the summer, and advocates are pushing for the bill to be reintroduced during the next session.

Now, the makers of off-road and farm equipment and many consumer electronics require their products to be repaired by certified technicians.

That means if Minchow's tractor stops working he has no choice but to call the dealer. He can't check the system codes himself to decide whether it's an easy fix like changing a filter or something more complicated. And that grinds the Waverly-area farmer's gears.

"I want it to be my call. I don't want to have to make two trips to the service department - one to diagnose it and one to fix it," said Minchow, who has been farming north of Waverly for more than 40 years.

And as dealerships have closed or consolidated, he said, technicians have gotten further away and service bills more expensive.

John Deere, in a 2014 comment to the U.S. Copyright Office, said the people who buy its tractors don't own the software that makes them run. Instead, each has an "implied license for the life of the vehicle to operate the vehicle."

In some cases, the company said, software could be subject to third-party restrictions and accessing it could violate copyright, trade secret or contractual rights.

But farmers work when they can, and every hour matters when storms, frost and mud leave them with few suitable days. A malfunctioning combine can bring the fall harvest to a standstill.

Waiting for a dealer to diagnose and fix a problem could mean hours, days or weeks lost.

Proponents of Nebraska's Fair Repair Bill say it would let farmers work on their own equipment and allow independent mechanics to help get machines running quicker.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau, the state's largest agriculture advocacy group, has not taken a stance on the issue but its members are talking about it, said Jordan Dux, the state Farm Bureau's director of national affairs.

"For the time being, we remain neutral on it but that very well might change as we work through our policy development process," he said during a recent web forum.

Some Farm Bureau members, Dux said, are concerned about taking business away from dealerships at a time when the ag economy has slowed and few farmers are buying new machinery.

"Keeping those dealerships in their communities is important," he said. "Repairs are going to be the way a lot of these dealerships are going to make money for the time being simply because folks aren't buying a lot of new equipment."

Another concern, Dux said, centers on what farmers should do if they buy equipment and find the previous owner made changes to the software they don't like.

Kyle Wiens, a software engineer and leading figure in the national Right to Repair movement, said in the same web seminar that new owners of used equipment would have what they need to restore factory defaults if manufacturers provided diagnostic tools and software.

John Hansen, president of the state's second largest agricultural advocacy organization, the Nebraska Farmers Union, supports the Right to Repair efforts saying farmers should have the same option to get their tractor fixed by an independent mechanic as they do when they need to get their truck fixed.

"This is a fairness issue. Folks in agriculture shouldn't be singled out and treated differently than the automotive customers or truck customers," Hansen said in the web forum.

"Competition is what makes our system of economics better. When you take competition out of the equation there is almost always a reduction in choice and quality and an increase in cost to the consumer."
 
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https://maplight.org/story/in-fight-over-the-right-to-repair-equipment-farmers-are-outspent-28-to-1/

In Fight Over the Right To Repair Equipment, Farmers are Outspent 28-to-1

Margaret Sessa-Hawkins
June 06, 2017

This story was published in partnership with Civil Eats.

When Tom Schwarz was growing up on his family’s 2,500-acre Nebraska produce farm and their International tractor broke down, fixing it was pretty simple.

“You bought a new part,” said Schwarz, 58. “Or, you bought a used part. You replaced what was broken, and you moved on.”

Today, repairs are much more complicated. Recently, a component in the guidance system on Schwarz’s John Deere 7230 tractor, which he uses to plant his crops, broke. Since the Moline, Ill.-based company no longer supports his tractor’s system, Schwarz is looking at a $3,000 bill for a used electrical part. He would like to just get his current component repaired, but manufacturers won’t provide independent shops with the guides or technology that would allow them to fix it, and Deere -- one of the few tractor manufacturers with an authorized repair shop in south-central Nebraska -- won’t repair older parts if it no longer supports them.

Schwarz is far from alone. Once capable of fixing their mechanical workhorses in a barn or under the shade of a tree, many of the nation’s 3.2 million farmers are now faced with tractors that can only be fixed by a manufacturer -- a situation that benefits manufacturers’ bottom lines but puts added burdens on often-struggling farmers. But Schwarz and other farmers are fighting back. They’re pushing “right-to-repair” legislation, which would require manufacturers to provide the same information and parts to farmers or independent repair shops as they do for the manufacturers’ repair shops.

This year, right-to-repair bills have been introduced in 11 state legislatures, including Kansas, Minnesota, New York, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Wyoming, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina and Nebraska. Supporters of the bill are at a distinct monetary disadvantage, though, and policy victories frequently are won by the side that spends the most. A MapLight analysis of state lobbying reports found proponents of right-to-repair legislation have been outspent by a 28-to-1 margin. Companies opposed to the legislation spent more than $2.6 million in New York, Massachusetts and Nebraska. Meanwhile, the coalition that wants farmers to be able to fix their own tractors has spent $93,620.

“We never doubted that it was going to be difficult, in a David-vs.-Goliath kind of way, to go up against some of the most iconic brands in the world,” said Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of The Repair Association, a New Jersey-based coalition that works to promote right-to-repair legislation.

The Case Against Right to Repair

Nebraska isn’t short of farmers like Schwarz who want to be able to repair their own equipment. This year, the Nebraska Farm Bureau approved a resolution expressing support for a right-to-repair bill.

Meanwhile, equipment companies including Deere, which controls as much as 60 percent of the tractor market in the U.S. and Canada, are opposed to the legislation. In a letter laying out its position, Deere argued that current regulations are necessary to maintain product safety and compliance with emissions standards.

“Allowing untrained individuals to modify equipment software can endanger operators, bystanders, dealers, mechanics, customer and others,” said Ken Golden, a Deere spokesman. He added that customers, dealers and manufacturers “should work together on the issue rather than invite government regulation that could add costs with no associated value.”

Golden confirmed Deere has lobbied on right-to-repair legislation, but declined to say in which states or how much the company spent. However, records show Deere has retained lobbyists in New York and reported spending $42,000 while lobbying on a 2015 right-to-repair bill in Massachusetts without reporting a position on the bill.

Deere and other equipment dealers have strong incentives to fight right-to-repair legislation. If farmers are forced to visit authorized dealers, it provides increased business for the manufacturers, and allows them to set the price for parts. Additionally, having only authorized shops able to repair machines means farmers are more likely to buy equipment from manufacturers with authorized shops nearby -- which in most areas are the bigger companies such as Deere or Case IH.

Beyond Agriculture

Right-to-repair legislation has attracted more than just tractor manufacturers’ attention, though. If a right-to-repair bill were to pass, it could also affect people ranging from heavy equipment operators to mobile phone users. Caterpillar, the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, has spent $38,700 while lobbying on right-to-repair legislation in New York. The Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association spent $38,000 while lobbying against a 2015 right-to-repair bill. And corporate heavyweights including Apple, Verizon and the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) oppose the legislation.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative dark-money organization that proposes model legislation for the states, has also declared its opposition to right-to-repair bills. The council, whose funders include billionaire libertarian brothers Charles and David Koch, describes right-to-repair legislation as “government mandates on innovators” that would force them to hand over proprietary information. Both e-commerce trade association NetChoice and telecommunications giant AT&T, which are opposed to right-to-repair legislation, are also on ALEC’s private enterprise board.

Nebraska, home to the nation’s fourth-largest agricultural economy, emerged in 2015 as a key battleground for legislative efforts to give farmers like Schwarz the ability to repair their own tractors. Telecom companies and trade associations that lobbied against the bill, including Verizon and CTIA, as well as manufacturing companies such as the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association, spent more than $78,000 combined. The lone supporter, the Nebraska Farmers Union, spent $4,400.

Sen. Bob Krist, an Omaha Republican who sits on the legislature’s agriculture committee, said he had mixed feelings about the bill. “When you’re charging $4,500 for a software update for a GPS, I think you’re out of line,” Krist said.

He didn’t have to balance his reservations about the bill in a vote on the 2015 measure, though; a series of procedural maneuvers in the state legislature doomed the bill, and it died in committee.

Beyond the Belt

Outside of farm country, right-to-repair laws are also hotly contested. When Massachusetts considered right-to-repair legislation in 2015, opponents included medical companies such as Boston Scientific Corp., and Johnson & Johnson; automotive organizations like the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers;and technology companies including Apple. Opponents of the bill spent $1.27 million. Its lone supporter, The Repair Association, spent $31,500.

New York also considered right-to-repair legislation in 2015. Opponents spent $1.3 million lobbying in the state, while the coalition that supported the failed bill spent more than $57,000.

Sen. Phil Boyle, a Long Island Republican, said he sponsored the legislation after hearing complaints from repair shops in his district, who felt their growth was being stifled by manufacturers.

Future Outlook

If history is any guide, right-to-repair advocates may look to bypass legislatures in favor of direct voter initiatives. A 2012 Massachusetts ballot measure to give diagnostic and repair information to car owners and repair shops passed with 86 percent of the vote.

“I think the way forward is a state is going to pass [right-to-repair legislation], or we’re going to do a ballot initiative,” The Repair Association’s Gordon-Byrne said. “But is it going to be next year or is it going to be in 10 years? That, I don’t know.”

Meanwhile, Tom Schwarz, the Nebraska farmer, is saving his money so he can afford a new guidance component for his $120,000 tractor. Since Schwarz is an organic farmer who can’t use herbicides, the machine’s guidance system ensures that stray weeds can be removed without damaging his crops. In the meantime, he’s resigned to buying a $3,000 second-hand part from Deere -- the only source for the component.

“I’m going to have to buy another receiver,” he said. “This is the second receiver I’ve bought—and every time I do this, it’s thousands of dollars.

“You have no other option,” he said. “You have to go to John Deere for everything.”

Methodology:
MapLight analyzed lobbying reports from New York, Massachusetts and Nebraska for 2015-2016 for client organizations that lobbied on right to repair legislation. Spending totals consist of amounts from reports indicating right to repair legislation was lobbied.

State lobbying records show how much a company paid a lobbyist during the filing period (two months in New York, four months in Nebraska, six months in Massachusetts). Lobbyists work on multiple bills in a given filing period, and filers do not report how much spending occurred on a single bill.

Data retrieved from the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, and the Nebraska Legislature on April 20-21, 2017.
 
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“Allowing untrained individuals to modify equipment software can endanger operators, bystanders, dealers, mechanics, customer and others,” said Ken Golden, a Deere spokesman. He added that customers, dealers and manufacturers “should work together on the issue rather than invite government regulation that could add costs with no associated value.”

Hmmmm or maybe help the manufactures get caught for creating or using a defeat device & that no one is aware of "yet"!
 
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On a related note:

Supreme Court Decision Delivers Major Victory for Aftermarket
Posted by Auto Care News on June 01, 2017

BETHESDA, MD – June 1, 2017 – In a major victory for the auto care industry, the Supreme Court upheld the legal precedent of patent exhaustion, which states that a company’s right to protect its patent ends when the product is sold to the end user. Information from an amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court by the Auto Care Association was used by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in reversing the Federal Circuit decision that would have been damaging to the manufacture and sales of aftermarket parts.

More:
http://autocare.org/BlogDetail.aspx?id=3516&blogid=86&gmssopc=1
 
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