The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the antitrust division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) have joined forces to request an exemption from the anti-circumvention rules of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for "commercial soft serve machines." This move comes as a response to the growing concerns surrounding the repairability of ice cream machines, particularly McFlurry machines, which have become a notorious pain point for many businesses.

The petition, filed with the US Copyright Office, aims to allow users to have more choices for third-party and self-repair of ice cream machines, ultimately leading to cost savings and increased competition in the repair market. The agencies argue that granting this exemption would prevent companies from using DMCA laws to enforce monopolies on repair and would result in a better return on investment for commercial and industrial equipment owners.

The petition builds upon the efforts of repair vendor and advocate iFixit, along with interest group Public Knowledge, who have been campaigning for broader reforms in the repair industry. iFixit recently conducted a teardown of a McDonald's soft serve ice cream machine supplied by Taylor, an industrial vendor. The teardown confirmed the lengthy warm-up and cleaning cycles required by the Taylor C709 Soft Serve Freezer, which also produces confusing error codes. Additionally, the cost of a Taylor technician's service for just 15 minutes of repair is a staggering $350.

The controversy surrounding ice cream machines took another turn when a Raspberry Pi-powered device called Kytch was developed as a solution to provide better diagnostics and insights into the machines. However, Taylor moved swiftly to ban franchisees from installing the device and released its own competing product. Kytch has since filed a $900 million lawsuit against Taylor, which is still pending.

Apart from ice cream machines, the petition to the Copyright Office aims to secure broader exemptions for industrial and commercial repairs that require workarounds, decryption, or other software tinkering. The DMCA, implemented in 1998, prohibits bypassing technological protection measures, primarily to combat piracy concerns raised by media companies.

Every three years, the Copyright Office reviews petitions to exempt certain exceptions to DMCA violations. Repair advocates have previously been successful in securing exemptions for farm equipment repairs, video game consoles, cars, and specific medical gear. However, the exemptions generally allow repair technicians to work past the locks of the devices, rather than facilitating the distribution of tools that would make repairs easier.

The push for DMCA exemptions aligns with ongoing efforts at the state and federal level to promote the right-to-repair movement. President Biden issued an executive order that included a call for repair reforms, and the FTC has actively pursued unnecessary repair restrictions by taking action against companies like Harley-Davidson, Westinghouse, and Weber, who tied warranties to authorized repair services.

As the debate over repairability and access to repairs continues, the FTC and DOJ's joint request for a DMCA exemption for ice cream machines highlights the importance of preserving consumer choices and encouraging competition in the repair market.