Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2023

Abstract

Restrictions on the repair of consumer goods have generated no shortage of policy proposals. This Article considers the empirical and legal case for one particular intervention—requiring firms to calculate and disclose their products’ scores on a uniform reparability index. These repair scores would provide consumers with salient information at or before the point of sale, enabling them to compare products on the basis of the ease and cost of repair. There is considerable empirical research, including assessments of France’s implementation of a similar requirement in recent years, suggesting that repair scores would both inform and empower consumers. Despite likely First Amendment challenges in the United States, such a regime is likely to survive constitutional scrutiny.

Comments

Originally published as Perzanowski, Aaron. "Mandating Repair Scores." Berkeley Technology Law Journal 37, no. 3 (2022): 1123-1144.


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