No, I am not talking about everyone’s favorite Jedi Master.
I am talking about the You Own Devices Act (YODA for short) a bill that has been presented before the house by Representative Blake Farenthold, to stand for the customer’s rights to resell products that they physically own and transfer ownership of the software contained in said products to the new owner.
If you are not in the reseller business, then the issue that YODA is attempting to resolve, is probably not at the forefront of your mind. It really doesn’t matter to you if resellers are prohibited from selling network equipment with copyright protected embedded software. However, with the Internet of Things (IoT) looming on the horizon, you can be sure that the You Own Devices Act will have an impact on everyone.
Think about it, the number of products and devices used in our everyday lives, containing licenses and software which are needed for the device to operate is growing in leaps an bounds. As it stands right now, many companies are using “intellectual property rights” in the form of a copyrighted code (not to be modified or shared) as a tool to prohibit anyone who has legally purchased their products, to resell them.
This is a serious problem!
It is the equivalent of selling your car to someone but being prohibited from giving them the keys. Like Honda telling you that you cannot provide your keys to anyone else because they are meant for you and only you. It is ridiculous and not one would stand for it. No one!
The fact of the matter is, if so many of the devices that we use every day contain software that is illegal to transfer to someone other than the buyer, with the future foretelling nearly every part of our daily lives being impacted by devices that contain software are connected to the internet, eventually no one will be legally allowed to sell anything they own. Which is not just a problem for the consumer, it will become a major issue for the manufacturers as well. When sales on new products plummets due to the customer’s inability to sell their current device, most likely to obtain funds to purchase the new product, manufacturers will feel the impact.
The Bottom Line
With technology every changing, so should the laws created for and around it, many of which are outdated and easily manipulated. It is our duty as technology resellers, consumers and users to stand together and support the You Own Devices Act and protect our rights. If you want to join the every growing list of YODA supports, including the highly esteemed United Network Equipment Dealer Association (UNDEA), please contact your congress members about the importance of the You Own Devices Act. You can also tweet Rep. Farenthold @Farenthold and share your thoughts on YODA using the hashtags #youowndevicesact, #yodabill, and #resellrights. Remeber, every thought counts, and your opinion matters.
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