John Deere to pay $99M in right-to-repair settlement(www.thedrive.com)

150 pointsby CharlesW4 hours ago10 comments

chasil3 hours ago
The complete crack of Deere's firmware in 2022 must have had some impact on this.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/16/john_deere_doom/
Edit: 'Sick Codes confirmed that he believes John Deere failed to comply with its GPL obligations. "I'd love for them to come forward and explain how they are in compliance," he said.'
- bri3dan hour ago
  I wouldn’t really call that a “complete crack” (although it IS cool). There’s an _awful_ lot more firmware in a car or tractor than the display unit, and arguably it’s one of the less important modules in most architectures. Cracked versions of Deere Service Advisor are much more meaningful to the kinds of repairs farmers perform than firmware exploits are.
SilverElfin3 hours ago
Seems like a small price for a big company. Shouldn’t there be some higher punitive fine for even trying this tactic? It’s basically zero cost for companies to be abusive.
- adityamwagh2 hours ago
  Yes there should be. But there won’t be until US stops lobbying and American public elects lawmakers that work for people instead of their own pockets.
  - nalekberov26 minutes ago
    Unfortunately most people has a price in this world. Those who can’t be bought are just so rare.
    user39393828 minutes ago
    The disgusting part is it’s not even that much money. $20k here, $50k there gets you a lot of political leverage.
causality02 hours ago
One of the most user-hostile companies on earth. My John Deere lawnmower came with a fuel gauge that runs off a CR2032 that's embedded in epoxy. The battery runs out of charge in about six months and the gauge stops working. If you saw the gauge open and replace the battery it doesn't start working again. If you disconnect the gauge the lawnmower won't start. Replacement gauges are $60.
- dyauspitr2 hours ago
  That’s wild.They had to go out of their way to not wire it to the 12V.
- dmos622 hours ago
  Hot take: it takes mental gymnastics to think that planned obsolescence is not fraud.
- elAhmo2 hours ago
  Don’t buy their stuff then.
  - rocmcd2 minutes ago
    You're getting downvoted, but this is really the only answer here. Companies won't stop acting this way as long as their shitty behavior is rewarded, and people keep rewarding their shitty behavior.
    No amount of legislation is going to prevent them from doing this. This settlement even proves that they can keep doing it with impunity!
  - snowe20102 hours ago
    Don’t comment if you don’t want to actually contribute. How are people supposed to know these things before buying the equipment. What if they’re the only provider in their region? There’s a billion reasons why your comment doesn’t contribute.
    laughing_man2 hours ago
    "Don't buy their stuff" is exactly the right answer. You need to do your research before you buy big ticket items. It may not be true in every sector, but Deere has plenty of competition.
    alpaca12826 minutes ago
    Do you seriously expect other companies not following suit? People need lawnmowers, so this can quickly turn into the same situation we have with the inkjet printer market.
    laughing_man13 minutes ago
    Yes, I expect that. Low sales will concentrate the mind.
    enaaeman hour ago
    How can you do research without victims complaining?
    laughing_man13 minutes ago
    Why wouldn't victims complain?
    OKRainbowKid6 minutes ago
    Because when they do, they receive snide remarks like "just don't buy their stuff then".
    linuxftw2 hours ago
    John Deere has had a terrible reputation for over a decade now. They've always used proprietary parts for the tractors. Do 5 minutes of research.
    edm0nd2 hours ago
    bruh dont sweat it. mainly everyone here is SF tech bros who have never worked a hard day in their life lol
    charcircuitan hour ago
    >How are people supposed to know these things before buying the equipment.
    By looking at reviews or paying someone to evaluate the product.
    >What if they’re the only provider in their region
    Then there is an opportunity for competition. Or you can import a product from another region.
    prawnan hour ago
    All great in theory, but in importing farm machinery, you need to take into account servicing options and warranty claims. Would be painful if you need to truck a harvester or even mower interstate for a warranty claim.
    And it's not like these things are always available from a source with reviews. Reviews for new models are less likely to cover repair-access issues that will arise in a few years' time.
  - user39393826 minutes ago
    Under that logic we don’t need any consumer protection laws.
darth_avocado3 hours ago
The stock is up 5% today. What’s the catch?
- jabwdan hour ago
  They settled, and paid pennies for being able to continue the status quo. Given that the headline is journalistic malpractice at best; and you asking this question kinda proves that.
  > While the agricultural manufacturing giant pointed out in a statement that this is no admission of wrongdoing
  Welp, gotta sue again in the future, hopefully lobbied laws in place to prevent whatever forced them to settle by then!
  - 24 minutes ago
    undefined
- tartoran2 hours ago
  > What’s the catch?
  99m is a drop in the bucket. They were probably expecting more.
- explodes3 hours ago
  IANAL but my understanding with settlements is that It removes the possibility of the defendant risking a judgement of wrongdoing and causing more problems down the road, like having to fix their mistakes.
- bluGill3 hours ago
  The market doesn't care. It is a big deal to some people here, but to the vast majority it doesn't change a thing (or doesn't seem to) and so the markets don't care.
- jauntywundrkindan hour ago
  Anticipating 10.01 years from now, when John Deere sends a new over the air update and the situation goes right back to where it was, with no one having access to their equipment.
- snapetoman hour ago
  There was a MoU between the American Farm Bureau and John Deere signed in 2023 that outlined right to repair. This consequently already altered Deere's business model with respect to IP and right to repair, and gave signals that a settlement was coming. In other words, the stock price already accounted for the change. Very few things catches stock prices by surprise in the long term.
- aucisson_masque3 hours ago
  The market expected a worst outcome ?
  - maest3 hours ago
    No, all US equities are up after the Iran ceasefire news.
    You need to look at Deere stock after taking out the beta to the market.
verdverm4 hours ago
The second paragraph likely answers some of your immediate questions
> The settlement also includes an agreement by Deere to provide “the digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair” of tractors, combines, and other machinery for 10 years. That part is crucial, as farmers previously resorted to hacking their own equipment’s software just to get it up and running again. John Deere signed a memorandum of understanding in 2023 that partially addressed those concerns, providing third parties with the technology to diagnose and repair, as long as its intellectual property was safeguarded. Monday’s settlement seems to represent a much stronger (and legally binding) step forward.
- westmeal2 hours ago
  Yeah but it's only for 10 years...
skeptrunean hour ago
this is awesome. beyond happy to see it
shevy-java2 hours ago
Good! Wonder if Louis Rossmann already mentioned that.
mothballedan hour ago
I bought a ~completely mechanical tractor without ECU right under the 25hp cutoff that requires computer and emissions controls to get around this bullshit. The adding of DPF and/or SCR to agricultural diesels gave vendors cover to fuck the customer using the excuse of preventing emissions tampering.
bearjawsan hour ago
Needs another zero, likely made 9 figures in revenue from this scheme.
pnw35 minutes ago
Up to one third of that $99m goes to attorneys. Named plaintiffs get $25k each and class members get what's left over, which could be anything from $50 to $5k according to ChatGPT.
I wonder if they'll throw in free credit monitoring with that?