Glyph23h ago
kottke.org
Farmers won their right-to-repair fight against John Deere. The settlement includes a 10-year “agreement by Deere to provide ‘the digital tools ​required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair’ of tractors, combines, and other machinery”. https://www.thedrive.com/news/john-deere-to-pay-99-million-in-monumental-right-to-repair-settlement
John Deere to Pay $99 Million in Monumental Right-to-Repair Settlement

The ag manufacturing giant will also make digital diagnostic, maintenance, and repair tools available to third parties for 10 years.

The Drive
Apr 9 at 1:32pmkottke bot
Show threadMycotropic1d ago

@kottke

This is a very important move in the right direction in my opinion. It sucks that farmers had to legally force #JohnDeere to do the right thing but it looks like a win for consumers!
#Caputalism #FuckCapitalism

Show threadHoward Cohen1d ago

@kottke So, the execs at JD lost their gambit to extort their customers for outrageous repair fees. And, the company has to pay a huge fine.

So, are any of the execs losing their jobs over this debacle?

Let me guess...

Show threadSoftspeak1d ago

@kottke

And just like that new local jobs were created, tractor and farm equipment repair mechanics enter the job market.

The wealthy will have to lose a little wealth and pound dirt.

Show threadPasswordsarehard41d ago
@softspeak @kottke I highly doubt that. If you could work on these things you already were. It’s complicated work that’s physically demanding and it requires expensive specialized equipment. This allows a Case IH dealer to fix a Deere and not pay a one time license fee which would get passed on. It may lead to less individual shops because they rely on repairing out of date equipment and this makes it worthwhile to upgrade.
Show threadS★m V★rm★1d ago
@kottke #GoodNews
Show threadKevin Karhan1d ago
@kottke only 10 years, not perpetually!
Show thread�1d ago
@kkarhan @kottke yeah, i thought they were violating gpl. didnt know this license only lasts for 10 years
Show threadClaudius1d ago
@kkarhan @kottke also no ruling, just a settlement.
Show threadKevin Karhan1d ago
@claudius @kottke yeah, that is the problem…
Show threadTerrorBite 🦁18h ago
@kkarhan @claudius @kottke hopefully the legal precedent this sets is still valuable.
Show threadDr Andrew A. Adams #FBPE 🔶15h ago
@TerrorBite @kkarhan @claudius @kottke
No precedent. It's a settlement before judgement.
Show threadKevin Karhan10h ago
@a_cubed @TerrorBite @claudius @kottke Eeyupp…
Show threadJeff McNeill1d ago
@kottke Should be 9 billion. These guys have gross profit of 20bn/year. 99m is half a percent of a year of profits. 10-year? Should be forever.
Show threadmike8051d ago

@kottke The good news here, if you are not a farmer: a whole bunch of lawyers are now sharpening their fangs and looking around to see who they can sue next.

Apple please. Or maybe the printer manufacturers? Or... hey we have LOTS of lawyers. Sue them all!

Show threadtrainguyrom1d ago

@kottke for those who aren't at all close to farming, John Deere's anti-repair practices have actually inflated the value of antique tractors to the point where many smaller farms rely exclusively on tractors and equipment from the 50s and 60s because it's equipment they can actually fix themselves or call out someone local to fix instead of waiting days or weeks for a "certified" mechanic to drive out from hundreds of miles away, thereby potentially delaying extremely time-sensitive processes like planting or harvesting (where even delaying by a day can be make or break for the year's profitability!)

Choosing to use less efficient pre-computer farm equipment has been far more of a risk management choice than a financial or sentimental one for many farmers for quite some time now

Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIES1d ago

@kottke

ukraine had a nice underground economy selling firmware to american farmers that allowed them to hack their tractors

this was before the stupid ukraine war

it's one of the things that made me think, combined with the fact ukraine was the technological heart of the old soviet union, that russia had made a colossal mistake

ukrainian ingenuity is not something to be trifled with

Show threadJargoggles1d ago

@benroyce @kottke
Even since the days of the Russian Empire, Ukraine has been the agricultural heartland of the region. Hell, even the colors their flag represent blue skies and wheat fields. They know a thing or three about farming.

Combining the two - early in the war, I remember reading stories about Ukrainians repurposing captured Russian vehicles for agricultural work. I still get a kick out of that.

Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIES1d ago

@jargoggles @kottke

yup

video of ukrainian farmers towing away or driving away russian tanks was an early feature of the war

Show threadMeaningfulBits1d ago
@kottke get those tools and black box / reverse engineer / open source them ASAP. As soon as the 10 years is up they are going to disappear and it will be another multi year battle to get access.
Show threadMre. Dartigen [maker mode]7h ago
@MeaningfulBits @kottke It's already been done by intrepid folks over in Ukraine for quite a while, though they did have a lot of disruptions what with the war so it wouldn't hurt for more people to pick up the skills. (Farmers themselves may be too busy for that though.)
Show threadTrimTab 🇺🇦1d ago

@kottke
This is not the victory we are looking for. We must keep pounding companies like this.

A) 99m into a "fund" is pathetic peanuts for these billionaires. It is a rounding error on the money this abusive crap earns them world wide.

B) The good behavior ends in 10 years and is limited scope

C) It has no effect on their monopoly status, bolstering sales actually.

D) They walk away with "no wrong doing" on the court record.

It resembles a bribe to the plaintiffs to STFU. 🤔

Show threadMichael Vilain1d ago
@kottke I can't imagine a multi-national company loosing a fight like this and throwing in the towel. I wonder what leverage the tractor owners used to get Deere to give up the fight.
Show threadKristy1d ago
@kottke Maybe farmers should stop voting for the conservatives who keep allowing companies to do whatever they want. Imagine not having to sue in the first place, only to get back "somewhere between 26% and 53% of overcharge damages".
Show threadNatanox 🇺🇦🇵🇸12h ago

@effariwhy @kottke Not sure how it's in NA. Here in Germany most farmers don't even manage to be part of a lobby group that doesn't openly shoot them in the foot, let alone *not* being WAY too hard right-leaning. This definitely is some cultural / educational phenomenon all over the place (or at least in western societies) that should be studied.

Fortunately there's a counter-culture to it incl. a proper lobby group, mostly carried by young farmers.

Show threadKristy2h ago
@Natanox @kottke there is a phenomenon here where people vote against there own interests because they'd rather have nothing than risk a non white person from benefiting. This most definitely infects white farming communities, many who once benefited from slavery. Some call this the politics of resentment and it's literally killing us.
Show threadNatanox 🇺🇦🇵🇸2h ago
@effariwhy @kottke "politics of resentment" sounds like a clear euphemism for what's essentially self-harm levels of racism. I heard about this concept though, in the context of all those fools who want to "own the libs" by any means necessary.
Show threadPeachMcD1d ago
@kottke
Great news!
Show threadLionelB1d ago

@kottke

This is hugely important. Their model was the oligarchs' fever dream.

Show threadeickot1d ago
@kottke 10 years is absolutly nothing, but at least is an start!
Show threadTodd Miller1d ago
@kottke Yes!
Show threadAurora 🐌1d ago
@kottke Good news!
Show threadUrzl1d ago
@kottke Fuck yes! Finally!
Show threadJaro Reinders23h ago

@kottke if only all software was required to include the tools for maintenance, diagnosis, and repairs.

Ever wondered why there are no third party repair shops for software? It's because almost all software is locked up like John Deere's tractors. Only the owner of the software is allowed to fix issues and it is not you.

Show threadCrovanian22h ago
@kottke yippie
Show threadAssimilateborg22h ago
@kottke only 99 Million? So it paid off as they for sure made more money than this by locking everything down. I expected something like 500 Billion.
Oh well, then companies will continue doing this.
Show threadDumbotron of Loxley21h ago
@kottke meanwhile in Oklahoma, https://www.kgou.org/oklahoma-right-to-repair-bill-fails
Agriculture right to repair bill fails to advance the Oklahoma legislature

A right-to-repair bill for agriculture machinery failed to move forward in the Oklahoma legislative session.

KGOU
Show threadKookie 🍪🇵🇸19h ago
@kottke Fuck yeah
Show threadGwen18h ago
@kottke oh wow
Show threadDaniel Reeders18h ago
@kottke that's about 150 tractors. that's absolutely nothing to John Deere.
Show threadQuasit18h ago
@kottke
What happens after the 10 years are up? Every John Deere piece of equipment explodes, killing everyone near them at the time?
Show threadnotsoloud14h ago

@kottke
I think they John Deere should just be barred from selling unless they open the protocols/APIs/ABIs.

Should be like that for all tech, actually.

Show threada very weeny construct 💀4h ago

i'm glad the right-to-repair proponents and farmers consider it a victory over john deere (do they?) but the settlement seems so weak from my armchair

$99 million is 150 tractors. $99 million is 2% of their profits in 2025. is 2% a lot? their profits decreased 30% from 2023 to 2024, and then another 30% from 2024 to 2025. they could eat 2% by accident