Over the last couple years, we’ve written more articles about McFlurries from McDonald’s than you might have expected. Looks like we’ve written about five of them in the last two years alone. We’re about to add a sixth. Two of those previous articles were about investigations into why those damned machines seem to be breaking down all the time. In our previous reports, we detailed how oddly problematic the situation really was but now we get to tell you that there’s hope that the sweet treat will be more reliably available.
If you’ve ever been told that the machine is down for making the McFlurries then you may have wondered to yourself, “If it’s broken, why don’t the fix the thing?” There’s a reason they can’t just do that. There are provisions in copyright law that allow for only the manufacturer of certain machines to be the one to repair them. Opponents to this kind of copyright provision support “right to repair” laws that would allow the current owner to be able to repair the machines instead of just the manufacturer.
In our previous reports, we explained that the McFlurry machines are manufactured by a company called Taylor. They have intellectual property rights on the machines that prevent the machines from being repaired by employees at the restaurants. Allegations were also made against Taylor that the machines were deliberately made to break down frequently, necessitating more calls to maintain them. It got so bad that some franchisees turned to an alternate company, Kytch that could potentially diagnose and prevent these problems. This in itself led to allegations the Kytch software was unsafe and a retaliatory lawsuit from Kytch.
Enter the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and a provision that will allow a way out of this. On October 28th, an exemption will be granted to McDonald’s to be able to perform maintenance on these machines. How far reaching this goes is up for further debate. Right now, the exemption covers “retail-level commercial food preparation equipment.” This could just be the tip of the iceberg for allowing the right to repair for other industries and pieces of equipment as well.
There are always important arguments to be made about the right to defend intellectual property and copyright; knowing that your invention or idea is protected is a helpful part of the creative process. That said, if you can’t purchase something and be able to legally repair it, what good is the concept of ownership? There’s nothing quite like the exciting and philosophical world of copyright law! Go out there, grab a legal journal, a McFlurry and have yourself a night!
