The right to repair, established under the patent exhaustion doctrine, allows owners of patented products broad rights to repair and modify their items. However, contractual limitations imposed by patent owners can restrict these rights, raising questions about their enforceability. Supreme Court rulings, including Impression Prods. v. Lexmark, have upheld owners' rights against such contracts. Recent legislative trends show states enacting laws to further protect these rights, yet concerns arise over potential negative impacts on innovation within complex technologies.
The right to repair is not a statutorily granted right, and thus, the question remains as to whether contracts altering the right to repair are preempted by the patent exhaustion doctrine, which is judicially created.
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