John Deere Backs Down in Right to Repair Fight, Signs Memo for Tool and Information Provision

Deere & Co., the company behind the iconic John Deere brand of agricultural machinery, has backed down on its attempt to block its users from repairing their own equipment — signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) enshrining farmers' right to repair.

John Deere equipment has been at the center of an ongoing legal battle between the company which makes it and owners of said equipment: The former claims that only authorized service personnel can work on the increasingly-computerized and complex equipment without risk of damage or harm, and refuses to make information and parts available outside its high-priced official maintenance ecosystem; the latter believe that their ownership of the hardware gives them an explicit right to repair and maintain said equipment in any manner they see fit, with or without authorization from the manufacturer.

Now, farmers' right to repair has received a major boost: Deere & Co. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), which confirms that, to stave of the risk of legislative or regulatory enforcement, the company will voluntarily work with owners to allow them to repair their equipment themselves or via the third party of their choice, as first reported by Reuters.

The MOU sees Deere & Co. agree to make tools, specialty and otherwise, and documentation available to owners and maintainers "on fair and reasonable terms" in order to "enhance the ability of farmers to timely control the lawful operation and upkeep of agricultural equipment." It's not a blanket permission for any and all modifications, however: the MOU further requires that no safety controls or protocols are compromised during any modifications, that modifications do not violate federal and state emissions controls, and that "the intellectual property of [the] manufacturer, including copyrighted software, is fully protected from illegal infringement through the modification of embedded software."

The signed MOU came into effect earlier this week, though it may take some time for Deere & Co. to begin delivering on its promises — progress of which will be monitored through semi-annual meetings between the company and the AFBF. A PDF copy of the MOU is available to download here.