After years of frustration and internet jokes, McDonald’s notoriously unreliable soft-serve machines may finally get the fix they need, thanks to a new copyright exemption.
The rule, which went into effect Monday, now allows outside repair vendors to work on commercial food prep equipment, including the ice cream machines that have long troubled McFlurry fans across the U.S.
Previously, McDonald’s franchise owners were limited to repairs exclusively from the manufacturer, a restriction enforced by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This act protected the machine’s software code, making it illegal for non-manufacturer repair teams to access or modify it. Now, the new rule removes this restriction, giving franchisees more freedom and, hopefully, leading to faster repairs.
The exemption is a major win for the “right to repair” movement, which advocates for consumers and independent technicians to access tools and resources needed to repair products they own. This movement has seen previous victories, such as Apple allowing customers to repair their iPhones.
While repair advocates, including groups like iFixit and Public Knowledge, are celebrating the win, some say there’s more work to be done. iFixit noted that while the exemption now allows third-party repairs, it doesn’t yet give people access to all the necessary tools and software.
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