{"id":15115,"date":"2021-10-27T09:30:42","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T23:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/?p=15115"},"modified":"2024-06-25T14:01:56","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T04:01:56","slug":"professor-leanne-wiseman-intellectual-property-access-to-information-and-the-right-to-repair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/2021\/10\/27\/professor-leanne-wiseman-intellectual-property-access-to-information-and-the-right-to-repair\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor Leanne Wiseman: Intellectual property, access to information and the Right to Repair"},"content":{"rendered":"

25 \u2013\u00a031\u00a0October marks\u00a0<\/span>Open Access Week<\/span><\/a>. To\u00a0celebrate\u00a0the work of Griffith researchers\u00a0who are advancing open access to information,\u00a0we caught up with Professor Leanne Wiseman to learn about\u00a0the\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0movement and how this\u00a0intersects with\u00a0intellectual\u00a0property law.\u00a0Professor\u00a0Wiseman is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Professor of Law at Griffith University. She is\u00a0also Associate Director of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture.\u00a0As part of her\u00a0Future Fellowship, Leanne has been investigating the role that intellectual property plays in the rights and capacities of Australians to repair their smart goods.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What was the path which led you to becoming a scholar specialising in the intersection of law, new technologies and intellectual property\u00a0(IP)?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My special interest in the intersection of law, new technologies and intellectual property was sparked when I\u00a0studied IP\u00a0and IT\u00a0law in\u00a0my Master of Laws\u00a0at King\u2019s College,\u00a0University of London in the early 1990s.\u00a0The\u00a0creation of the World Wide Web in 1989\u00a0had\u00a0revolutionised computers\u00a0and communication,\u00a0and the ensuing exponential growth of information dissemination highlighted the important\u00a0challenges that\u00a0new technologies\u00a0posed to IP laws, particularly copyright law.\u00a0\u00a0From that time, I have always been interested in how IP laws can\u00a0both hinder and enable access to information.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My research into IP\u00a0issues\u00a0in\u00a0agriculture through our research centre, the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA),\u00a0highlighted the many ways in which IP rights can restrict\u00a0(but also in some cases, enable)\u00a0access to\u00a0information. I have particular interest in the legal issues that are arising when copyright and the scheme of technological protection measures are now embedded in digitally enabled goods,\u00a0equipment\u00a0and devices such as our cars, fridges, microwaves and household appliances such as coffee machines and vacuums.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your recent research has concentrated on the \u2018Right to Repair\u2019 movement. What does \u2018Right to Repair\u2019 mean, and how is it related to\u00a0open access and intellectual property law?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Put simply, the\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0movement relates to the ability of consumers to have their products repaired at a competitive price by the repairer of their choice or to be able to repair their products themselves. To enable this to happen, manufacturers should make repair and service information and tools available to third-party repairers, and spare parts should be made available for repair.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the heart of the legal barriers to repair is\u00a0the Intellectual Property law regime<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Manufacturers of digitally enabled goods use the IP in the computer software to \u2018lock up\u2019\u00a0the goods\u2014which\u00a0in effect ties consumers to the manufacturers for repair and service. Manufactures rely upon\u00a0the copyright scheme of technological protection measures (TPMs)\u2014developed\u00a0in the 1990s to protect music and other copyright content online\u2014to\u00a0prohibit access to the underlying software programs that are now embedded in everyday smart appliances,\u00a0cars\u00a0and machinery.\u00a0Copyright and TPMs are not the only barriers to access and repair. Contributing to the problem are the copyright licences that restrict access to the technology and the repair information in service manuals.\u00a0Patents, trademarks, designs, trade secrets and confidentiality in the hardware, software, spare\u00a0parts\u00a0and repair manuals are also being used by the manufacturers to control the aftermarket of spare parts, repairs and servicing.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Open access organisations such as\u00a0<\/span>Digital Rights Watch (DRW) and Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA)\u202fare supportive of\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0movement that opposes\u00a0<\/span>manufacturers\u2019\u00a0excessive\u00a0control\u00a0over\u00a0access to repair information.\u00a0Interestingly, as\u00a0Apple co-founder\u00a0<\/span>Steve Wozniak\u00a0has\u00a0observed<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Apple only exists because of the\u00a0open-source\u00a0culture\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a01970s<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Back when Steve Jobs and\u00a0Steve\u00a0Wozniak created Apple, every electronic device would come\u00a0bundled\u00a0with\u00a0all of\u00a0its circuits, schematics and designs detailed on a manual.\u00a0This is no longer the case as much of this information is held\u00a0back\u00a0by manufacturers, who have a strong interest controlling the repair or aftermarket.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018…the\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0movement relates to the ability of consumers to have their products repaired at a competitive price by the repairer of their choice or to be able to repair their products themselves.\u2019<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What first sparked your interest in the\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0movement, and can you explain some of the\u00a0research and advocacy\u00a0work you are\u00a0currently involved in?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For many years\u00a0I have worked with Australian farmers\u00a0researching the\u00a0IP issues they confront when they adopt digital technologies on their farms. With increasing use of digital technologies such as GPS controlled tractors, sensors and drones, there is a huge amount of data being created on farms,\u00a0and with that, an increasing level of interest in the ownership and control of agricultural data.\u00a0It was examining issues around agricultural data ownership and access that\u00a0highlighted\u00a0the fact that\u00a0our\u00a0farmers\u00a0have\u00a0limited access to\u00a0the agricultural data their digital farm machinery generates. This has serious implications for farmers when their digital farm equipment breaks down or needs\u00a0repair.\u00a0\u00a0The limited access to\u00a0diagnostic data and\u00a0repair services and\u00a0information for farm machinery led me to the\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0movement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I first spoke to Western Australian grain farmers about the\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0movement in 2015 and since then I have been researching international legal and regulatory responses to\u00a0the\u00a0movement.\u00a0Both the US and the EU have begun to introduce regulations to respond to this inability to repair.\u00a0Limited access to repair and service\u00a0information,\u00a0and the inability to repair digital\u00a0devices\u00a0and equipment\u00a0impacts a\u00a0wide range of\u00a0products used by agricultural and many other industries,\u00a0including\u00a0motor vehicles, electronic\u00a0appliances\u00a0and medical equipment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My current research focuses\u00a0on what\u00a0a\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0should look like in the Australian regulatory framework\u2014in particular, the\u00a0role that intellectual\u00a0property law\u00a0plays in the rights\u00a0and capacities of Australians to repair their smart goods\u2014and,\u00a0more broadly, in the more efficient and sustainable use of Australian resources, which in turn effects\u00a0Australia\u2019s environmental sustainability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What might equitable\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0provisions looks like in an Australian context, and how could these benefit consumers and the environment?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0is a multi-faceted issue which requires a range of regulatory responses that will involve potential reforms not only to intellectual property laws,\u00a0but also consumer,\u00a0competition\u00a0and environmental laws.\u00a0<\/span>On 29\u00a0<\/span>October 2020, the\u00a0Treasurer\u00a0of Australia\u00a0gave the Productivity Commission terms of reference\u00a0<\/span>to undertake a 12-month inquiry into the<\/span>\u202f<\/span>Right to Repair<\/span><\/i>\u202fin Australia<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0This review has examined\u00a0\u2018potential benefits and costs associated with ‘Right to Repair’ in the Australian context, including current and potential legislative, regulatory and non-regulatory frameworks and their impact on consumers’ ability to repair products that develop faults or require maintenance\u2019. The terms of reference were broad, including the competition aspects of repair markets and consideration of how to\u00a0<\/span>prevent the \u2018premature or planned product obsolescence and the proliferation of\u00a0ewaste\u2019.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The final report of the Productivity Commission is due to be released on 29 October 2021.\u00a0Several\u00a0recommendations were made in the\u00a0Productivity Commission\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>draft report<\/span><\/a>, which gave some indication of their\u00a0thinking.\u00a0There was some interest in investigating\u00a0reforms to the defence of fair dealing in\u00a0copyright\u00a0law to ensure repairability was permitted,\u00a0and\u00a0to ensure technological protection measures could not be used to lock up devices thus preventing repair.\u00a0Also,\u00a0there was\u00a0some\u00a0interest expressed in the recently introduced\u00a0<\/span>French Repairability Index<\/span><\/a>, which introduced a rating system for the repairability of goods.\u00a0It will be very interesting to see the final recommendations of the Productivity Commission\u2019s\u00a0inquiry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Reducing e-waste by enabling the repair of our goods will play an important\u00a0role in creating a more environmentally sustainable Australia.\u2019<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Encouraging and enabling repair of our digital goods and machinery will ensure that\u00a0our digital\u00a0products,\u00a0equipment\u00a0and devices\u00a0remain in use for much longer, reducing the amount of\u00a0e-waste that is being created.\u00a0Reducing\u00a0e-waste by\u00a0enabling\u00a0the\u00a0repair of our goods\u00a0will\u00a0play an important\u00a0role in creating a more environmentally sustainable Australia.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Are there any resources you can recommend to people who would like to find out more about the\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0movement, open access or intellectual property law in general?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There has been a lot of media interest around the\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0issue\u00a0here in Australia and a great place to find many of the media links is at the\u00a0<\/span>Repair Australia website<\/span><\/a>, which was recently launched.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Internationally, there are wonderful organisations such as the US\u00a0<\/span>Public Interest Research\u00a0Group<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(PIRG)\u00a0that\u00a0have been working hard on the\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0in the USA,\u00a0\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>Repair Association<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>iFixit<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>European\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0movement<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

IP Australia<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is a great source of information about intellectual property laws more generally.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You can find\u00a0publications by Professor Wiseman on her\u00a0<\/span>Griffith Experts<\/span><\/a>\u00a0page.\u00a0Visit the\u00a0<\/span>OA Australasia<\/span><\/a>\u00a0website for more information about Open Access Week events happening across Australia.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

25 \u2013\u00a031\u00a0October marks\u00a0Open Access Week. To\u00a0celebrate\u00a0the work of Griffith researchers\u00a0who are advancing open access to information,\u00a0we caught up with Professor Leanne Wiseman to learn about\u00a0the\u00a0Right to Repair\u00a0movement and how this\u00a0intersects with\u00a0intellectual\u00a0property law.\u00a0Professor\u00a0Wiseman is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Professor of Law at Griffith University. She is\u00a0also Associate Director of the Australian Centre forContinue reading “Professor Leanne Wiseman: Intellectual property, access to information and the Right to Repair”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":16983,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,172,5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-researcher-profile","category-researchers","category-students"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Vanessa Gatt","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2023\/10\/Professor-Leanne-Wiseman.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}