Outlook on the right to repair: how will it find its way into China’s Copyright Law?

Abstract

... The idea of a right to repair is intended to require manufacturers to provide consumers with parts, tools and relevant information for their products. This new right provides consumers with the opportunity and freedom to choose independent repairers on their own.1 In recent years, the movement of consumers fighting for the right to repair has been on the rise in both Europe and the USA.2 For example, there have been many legislative proposals on state levels in the USA,3 and the European Union (EU) Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) also makes it clear that ‘… the Commission will work towards establishing a new “right to repair” and consider new horizontal material rights for consumers for instance as regards availability of spare parts or access to repair’.4 In contrast, neither legislation nor judicial practice in China has ever been attracted to this issue, not even the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers, which plays the key role among all laws and regulations enacted to protect consumers. The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers only provides that manufacturers have an obligation to repair products but does not address the obligation of the manufacturer when consumers decide to repair products on their own.5 Furthermore, many Chinese consumers are unaware of what rights they may have to repair their products with any repair shop they choose, although it is an indisputable fact that, often times, maintenance of products is possible only through manufacturers or authorized repairers. Manufacturers, by taking advantages of copyright laws and licence agreements, maintain firm control over consumers’ maintenance needs and the repair industry. High maintenance costs, limited access to independent repairers and rampant e-waste have caused harm to consumers’ rights and interests, and at the same time, environmental pollution ensues. In the future, China will inevitably be confronted with the same situation as in Europe and the USA, or even worse, due to the size of the consumer population and the market.