Missouri product owners would have repair access, with key exceptions

Covered manufacturers would give owners access to repair information and sell available replacement parts on fair and reasonable terms. Owners must lawfully acquire products purchased or used in Missouri, regardless of purchase date. Covered manufacturers sell or lease new products and service or repair them. Exclusions cover vehicles, medical-device businesses and their offerings, products made for medical settings, and businesses providing central-station alarm systems. The owner’s information and parts rights would not apply while the product has a valid repair or replacement warranty. Manufacturers would not have to sell parts unavailable to them or their authorized repair network, reveal trade secrets, or share information unrelated to diagnosis or repair. Fair and reasonable prices would consider comparable prices and preparation and distribution costs, excluding research and development costs. Manufacturers could satisfy the requirements by supplying repair information to third-party repair tools or information systems. Owners would receive information and parts in the same manner and at the same time as manufacturer-authorized repair shops.

Manufacturers would sell owners and independent repair shops tools with the same diagnostic abilities available to their own staff or authorized shops. These rights would cover owners of products purchased or used in Missouri and independent repair shops operating in Missouri. A manufacturer’s dealer would count as independent when repairing another manufacturer’s products. Tools would be sold on fair and reasonable terms. Manufacturers could share security-reset information through a secure release system when needed for security. Supplying repair information to third-party tools or information systems would satisfy manufacturers’ obligations. Manufacturers would then have no responsibility for those systems’ content or performance. Trade secrets would remain protected. Exclusions cover vehicles, medical-device businesses and their offerings, products made for medical settings, and businesses providing central-station alarm systems.

Manufacturer-authorized shops would have a conditional right to buy repair information in a format shared across manufacturers. This right would cover shops authorized to repair products under a manufacturer’s name. Exclusions cover vehicles, medical-device businesses and their offerings, products made for medical settings, and businesses providing central-station alarm systems. The manufacturer must sell information in that format to independent shops or other providers, or offer those providers more favorable terms. This right would not apply when the manufacturer’s own format contains information or functions unavailable in the shared format. Existing repair agreements would remain in place. Authorized shops would have the section’s rights and remedies except in disputes over compliance with those agreements.

Owners and independent shops could file court complaints, and the Missouri attorney general would enforce the requirements. Owners and independent repair shops could complain about a manufacturer’s failure to provide repair information or tools required by these rules. A court complaint would need proof that the owner or shop tried the manufacturer’s available support process and sent the required written notice. If the manufacturer fixes the failure within 30 days, any later lawsuit would be limited to actual damages, meaning compensation for proven losses. The $500 fine for each violation would go to the school fund of the county where the complaint arose. The 30-day period would begin when the manufacturer receives written notice. A court complaint could follow if the manufacturer does not respond or the owner or shop is dissatisfied with the fix.