You Have the Right to Repair Things!

Second hand repair (Photo – Maelane Chan).

A lobbying and advocacy group, that was formed in 2013, aims to represent DIY hobbyists, independent repair technicians, environmental organizations and the aftermarket.

By Robert Gauna

The Repair Association (previously known as the Digital Right to Repair Coalition,) calls itself Repair.org. It focuses on passing state-level legislation to prevent manufacturers from artificially locking down their products to would-be repairers, and ultimately sell repair parts to local repair shops and consumers alike.

Executive director, Gay Gordon-Byrne, said to MotherBoard:

We We want to become an umbrella organization for repair. We want to help the small repair technicians that aren’t getting help from anywhere else.

Manufacturers are using federal copyright law to control repairs of computerized gadgets, where they’re the only ones allowed to fix (or their licensed repair shops,) while refusing to sell replacement parts or guides to the public.

iFixit, EFF, PC Rebuilders & Recyclers, The Fixers Collective, Public Knowledge, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, plus other smaller groups, have joined Repair.org to help the secondary repair market achieve one goal in mind: “Consumers, product owners, and independent professionals must have the right to repair, resell, and reuse their products”.