Repair monopoly

A repair monopoly is an aftermarket monopoly where a company controls the market for repairing and maintaining their products, making it difficult, or even impossible for anyone to be able fix them. This can take the form of making it challenging or prohibitively expensive for individuals or independent third parties to get access to parts, manuals, or diagnostic tools. The purpose of repair monopolies is to steer customers back to the manufacturer’s own repair services or encourage the purchase of new equipment instead of repairing it.^[1]

Repair monopolies have been found lead to higher prices, increased delays, reduced serviceability, and less choice for consumers.^[2]

See also

• Right to repair
• Repairability

References

1. Galaz, Victor. Dark Machines: How Artificial Intelligence, Digitalization and Automation is Changing our Living Planet. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-040-26223-8.
2. Perzanowski, Aaron (8 February 2022). The Right to Repair: Reclaiming the Things We Own. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-94382-6.