Pirate Congress 2021/Motions/Policy and Platform/Right to Repair

PM-6 Right to Repair
Put by: John August

Motion
Adopt the following position statement titled "Right to Repair"

As an extension of Pirate Party Australia's endorsement of personal sovereignty and privacy, we support a "Right to Repair".

People have started to take notice of the widespread abuse of Intellectual Property protections in Australia and beyond, particularly in the repair sector which includes initiatives such as repair cafes.

The "Right to Repair" has both a "Rights" and an "Economic" foundation. While intellectual property "rights" have been much abused, nevertheless, assuming they are granted, they should only prohibit people selling products around the licensed product. After purchase, consumers should have the right to modify and repair what they have purchased as a matter of personal rights.

Our policies emphasise that copyright and patents should not apply to private use. Indeed, once you purchase something, you have paid for it, own it and should be able to do what you like with it. There may be some limitations relating to public and personal safety, but it should be the Government, operating independently to corporate pressure, making calls on this sort of detail. Nevertheless, the default position is that you should be able to repair, adapt and modify the things that you have purchased and own.

Economically, we can only imagine a more productive and prosperous economy resulting from a repair culture. Less is thrown away, jobs are created, personal satisfaction is increased and there is less need for transport. It means that fewer things may be purchased, which may not suit the desires of some businesses, but is a better thing for society at large.

We certainly recognise the good that has been achieved through private industry innovation. Nevertheless, businesses will covet their assets to extend economic life beyond the socially beneficial lifetime.

Making things more complex are the treaties the Government is a signatory to, such as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011. Pirate Party challenges treaties generally that are arranged behind closed doors and away from public scrutiny. Existing laws such as the Copyright Act 1968 are opposed to the recognition of a right-to-repair.

We recognise that the Government has acted to give consumers rights, for example the right to repair your motor vehicle at independent repairers without violating warranty, and has made some positive initiatives in this arena.

Nevertheless, Pirate Party Australia will continue to hold the Government accountable on this issue, and continue to advocate for the rights of the consumer, something that has long become lost in the intellectual property debate with corporate interests having steamrolled the development of intellectual property law - both locally and internationally.

We made Submission 74 to the Right to Repair Inquiry: https://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/272458/sub074-repair.pdf

Rationale
The "right to repair" is an issue with a strong resonance with our general position - in terms of personal freedom and intellectual property. It has been developing increased prominence of late. Nevertheless, while we have been making submissions and media releases on the topic, we do not have a formal position within our policy. As an intermediate step, articulating a position statement seems to me worthwhile and so I put this motion supporting this policy statement forward.

Results
Passed on the floor of Congress.

Ratified by online vote with 93 Ayes; 1 Nays; and 3 Abstains.