Photo:Boldride

You work 50 hours a week to save a little cash and hopefully get ahead in this life so you can afford vacations, a home and a nice vehicle to drive. Can you imagine that it’s possible that when you buy your next GM car or truck that you won’t actually be the owner? Thats right, it sounds insane but this is something that’s not only possible,but it’s being argued right now with our federal government.

The U.S. Copyright Office is currently holding a series of hearings on whether or not anyone other than the manufacturer of a car has a right to tinker with that car’s copyrighted software. And with the way modern design goes, that basically means with the car, at all.

Folks who like to tinker with their cars, as well as independent (non-dealer) mechanics say they need the copyright exemption in order to be allowed to continue repairing their own cars, or keeping their businesses open. Manufacturers, like GM, say that it’s a safety issue: if people who aren’t authorized mess with any of the software, they could make the connected code unsafe.

Photo:Reddit

General Motors recently joined John Deere in asking the government, our government, to confirm that you literally cannot own your car because of the software in its engine. Read that line again. YOU CANNOT OWN YOUR OWN CAR. You would be, if this gets modified, a licensee.

I dont know about you, but that line made me more than shocked, it pissed me right off. In this day and age of software, computers and licensing, I understand that somethings are going to change and move forward into a realm that I don’t fully understand, and that’s fine when it relates to video games, illegal music downloads and keeping my home computer secure. But when youre saying that the $50,000 I just spent on a Dodge Ram truck doesn’t make it mine and that I am just licensing the vehicle is truly mind-blowing.

Photo:Reddit

How did this even become a thing? Read this next paragraph carefully.

Over the last twenty years, manufacturers have been using the DMCA, arguing that we (consumers) do not own the software in the products we buy, more specifically, things like smartphones, computers and even tractors. So with that as a background, John Deere and now GM, have set out to stop the Copyright Office from granting an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that would allow you to “jailbreak” the code in your car’s engine so that you can take it to a non-GM mechanic for service, or fix it yourself. This is important to understand because they want to basically hold you hostage and make you go to their dealerships for service because it’s their computers that run your car. You need them. They know this and they don’t want to disrupt their stranglehold on you, their car or their service and their warranty requirements.

So why this and why now? The answer is simple. Money. The only way you can check your GM vehicles diagnostics is by using their licensed software. Newer models can only be diagnosed and serviced at licensed dealers and repair shops, if you use someone else that can void your warranty completely. So even with all those hoops and BS, now GM and John Deere want to go a step further.

GM’s claim is about protecting their software codes and copyrights which echos the original John Deere claim. Heres a simple look at what they are saying:

• software tells all the parts how to operate in the car
• The software that tells all the parts to operate is a custom code copyrighted by GM
• GM owns the copyright on that code and the software and their cars can’t run without it
• With that being said, the purchase or use of that car is a licensing agreement between the buyer and GM. Since it is subject to a licensing agreement, GM is the owner and can allow/disallow certain uses or access

Are you angry yet? Is this something that sounds correct to you? Well it sounds correct to John Deere and in a statement from them, they try to explain why this is important and how they are actually just protecting consumers. Here is a direct quote from the maniacs at John Deere:

“Similar to a car or computer, ownership of equipment does not include the right to copy, modify or distribute software that is embedded in that equipment. A purchaser may own a book, but he/she does not have a right to copy the book, to modify the book or to distribute unauthorized copies to others.”

They added:

“Embedded software is designed and tested to ensure equipment works in certain, expected ways. Software modifications increase the risk that equipment will not function as designed. As a result, allowing unqualified individuals to hack or modify equipment software can endanger Deere customers, dealers, and others.”

I thought that these were pretty good quotes until I sat and thought about it. Using their example, While I didn’t write the words in a book I bought, I do own the book and I can do whatever the hell I want with it. Some stuff may not be legal like trying to print new copies and sell them, but I can take notes on the pages and share quotes on my social media channels. This quote from the knuckleheads in the PR department from John Deere really isnt even relatable to what they are asking the government to consider enforcing.

If you haven’t guessed why this is such a big deal to us, It’s because this issue is directly related to you, the people who read this website and those of you who restore old cars or sell those vehicles for fun for financial gain. The issue at hand is about letting users modify the product they purchased and retaining the right to modify the products that they purchased. Unfortunately in Section 1201 of the DMCA says it’s not legal when it comes to your John Deere tractor. Because under 1201, if you circumvent the “technical protection measures” that John Deere put over its software, you’ve broken the law — whether or not you made any infringing copies. this could ring to the tune of millions of dollars in potential lawsuits.

As it currently sits, there are 13 large automakers on the list supporting the DMCA.

General Motors Company
BMW Group
FCA US LLC
Ford Motor Company
Jaguar Land Rover
Mazda
Mercedes-Benz USA
Mitsubishi Motors
Porsche
Toyota
Volkswagen Group of America
Volvo Cars North America

Tesla Motors is actually one of the brands that relies most on technology in its vehicles — is not in support of DMCA.

So as this plays out, it will be interesting to see what other large companies pile into the movement to modify Section 1201 of the DMCA. Until then, be happy that you own what you buy, for now. The day may soon come where we are all just renters instead of owners.