Sec. 42-110x. (Note: This section is effective July 1, 2026.) Repair of electronic or appliance product. Requirements. Notice. Liability. Exceptions. Unfair trade practice. (a) For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Antenna” includes, but is not limited to, any resonant device that is designed especially for the purpose of capturing electromagnetic energy transmitted by direct satellite or commercial radio or television broadcasting facilities;
(2) “Authorized repair provider” (A) means a person who (i) is unaffiliated with a manufacturer, and (ii) has an arrangement with a manufacturer (I) under which the manufacturer grants to the person a license to use a trade name, service mark or other proprietary identifier to offer diagnostic, maintenance or repair services for electronic or appliance products under the manufacturer's name, or (II) to offer diagnostic, maintenance or repair services for electronic or appliance products on behalf of the manufacturer, and (B) includes a manufacturer, with respect to any of such manufacturer's electronic or appliance products, if the manufacturer (i) offers diagnostic, maintenance or repair services for such product, and (ii) does not have an arrangement with an unaffiliated person to diagnose, maintain or repair such product;
(3) “Documentation” means any electronic or appliance product diagram, manual, reporting output, schematic, service code description or similar information that a manufacturer provides to an authorized repair provider or, if the manufacturer does not have an authorized repair provider, the manufacturer uses for the purpose of diagnosing, maintaining or repairing an electronic or appliance product;
(4) “Electronic or appliance product” or “product” (A) means any antenna, electronic set, major home appliance or rotator (i) that is manufactured for the first time, and first sold or used in this state, on or after July 1, 2026, and (ii) for which the manufacturer makes documentation, parts and tools available to an authorized repair provider, (B) includes any item set forth in subparagraph (A) of this subdivision that is sold through any method other than a direct retail sale, and (C) does not include any (i) alarm system, as defined in section 29-6c, (ii) motor vehicle, as defined in section 13b-387, or any component used to maintain, manufacture or repair any motor vehicle, or (iii) video game console;
(5) “Electronic set” includes, but is not limited to, any audio or video recorder or playback equipment, computer system, facsimile machine, photocopier, radio, television, video camera or video monitor that is normally used or sold for personal, family, household or home office use;
(6) “Fair and reasonable terms” means terms that satisfy the requirements established in subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of this section;
(7) “Manufacturer” means the person who manufactures an electronic or appliance product;
(8) “Major home appliance” includes, but is not limited to, any dishwasher, dryer, freezer, microwave oven, range, refrigerator, room air conditioner, trash compactor or washer that is normally used or sold for personal, family, household or home office use;
(9) “Part” means any replacement component or assembly of components, either new or used, that the manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product makes available to an authorized repair provider to facilitate the maintenance or repair of such product;
(10) “Person” means an individual, association, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, trust or other legal entity;
(11) “Rotator” includes, but is not limited to, an electromechanical device, used in connection with an antenna installation or repair, that is operated from a remote location to rotate an antenna on a horizontal plane;
(12) “Service dealer” means any person who (A) is not an authorized repair provider or manufacturer, and (B) for compensation, engages in the business of, or holds such person out to the public as engaging in the business of, installing, maintaining, repairing or servicing any electronic or appliance product;
(13) “Tool” (A) means any hardware implement, software program or other apparatus that the manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product makes available to an authorized repair provider for the diagnosis, maintenance or repair of such product, and (B) includes, but is not limited to, (i) any software or other mechanism that provisions, programs, pairs a part, provides or calibrates functionality or performs any other function necessary to repair an electronic or appliance product, or a part thereof, and return such product or part to its fully functional condition, and (ii) any update to any software or mechanism described in subparagraph (B)(i) of this subdivision;
(14) “Trade secret” has the same meaning as provided in section 35-51; and
(15) “Video game console” (A) means any computing device, including, but not limited to, any console machine, handheld console device or similar device or system, that is primarily used by consumers to play video games, (B) includes, but is not limited to, the components and peripherals of any computing device described in subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, and (C) does not include any (i) general or all-purpose computing device, (ii) desktop, laptop or tablet computer, or (iii) hand-held mobile telephone, as defined in section 14-296aa.
(b) (1) The manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product shall make available, on fair and reasonable terms, to the owners of such product, service and repair facilities and service dealers documentation and functional parts and tools, inclusive of any updates thereto, that are sufficient to affect the diagnosis, maintenance or repair of such product:
(A) For at least three years after the last date on which such manufacturer manufactured an electronic or appliance product of the same model or type if such product has a wholesale price to a retailer, or to any other person in any sale other than a direct retail sale, of at least fifty dollars but less than one hundred dollars, which wholesale price shall not exceed the manufacturer's suggested retail price for such electronic or appliance product; or
(B) For at least five years after the last date on which such manufacturer manufactured an electronic or appliance product of the same model or type if such product has a wholesale price to a retailer, or to any person in any sale other than a direct retail sale, of at least one hundred dollars, which wholesale price shall not exceed the manufacturer's suggested retail price for such electronic or appliance product.
(2) The time periods set forth in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall apply regardless of whether such time periods exceed the term of any warranty period for the electronic or appliance product.
(3) (A) For the purposes of subdivision (1) of this subsection and except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, the manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product shall be deemed to have made documentation, functional parts and tools available on fair and reasonable terms if:
(i) Such manufacturer makes such documentation, parts and tools available at costs and on terms that are equivalent to the most favorable costs and terms under which such manufacturer offers such documentation, parts and tools to authorized repair providers, accounting for any discount, rebate, convenient and timely means of delivery, means of enabling fully restored and updated functionality, rights of use or other incentive or preference such manufacturer offers to authorized repair providers;
(ii) For documentation, such manufacturer makes such documentation, including any relevant updates thereto, available at no charge, except such manufacturer may impose a charge for the reasonable actual costs incurred by such manufacturer in preparing and sending a physical printed version of such documentation to an owner, service and repair facility or service dealer if the owner, service and repair facility or service dealer requests a physical printed version of such documentation; and
(iii) For tools, such manufacturer makes such tools available at no charge and without imposing any impediment to access or use such tools to diagnose, maintain or repair and enable full functionality of such product, or in a manner that does not impair the efficient and cost-effective performance of any such diagnosis, maintenance or repair, except such manufacturer may impose a charge for the reasonable actual costs incurred by such manufacturer in preparing and sending such tools to an owner, service and repair facility or service dealer in physical form if the owner, service and repair facility or service dealer requests such tools in physical form.
(B) If a manufacturer does not use an authorized repair provider, the manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product shall be deemed to have made documentation, functional parts and tools available on fair and reasonable terms if such manufacturer makes such documentation, parts and tools available at a price that reflects the actual costs incurred by such manufacturer in preparing and delivering such documentation, parts and tools, excluding any research and development costs.
(c) If a service dealer or service and repair facility is not an authorized repair provider for an electronic or appliance product, the service dealer or service and repair facility shall, before repairing any such product, provide to the customer who requests such repair a written notice disclosing:
(1) That such service dealer or service and repair facility is not an authorized repair provider for such product; and
(2) Whether such service dealer or service and repair facility uses any (A) used replacement parts, or (B) replacement parts provided by a supplier other than the manufacturer of such product.
(d) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, no manufacturer or authorized repair provider shall be liable for any damage or injury caused to any electronic or appliance product, person or property that occurs as a result of any diagnosis, maintenance, modification or repair performed by an owner or a service dealer, including, but not limited to:
(A) Any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages;
(B) Any loss of data, privacy or profits; or
(C) Any inability to use, or reduced functionality of, such product.
(2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not apply to any design defect or manufacturing flaw that existed prior to, or independent of, any diagnosis, maintenance, modification or repair described in said subdivision.
(e) No provision of this section shall be construed to:
(1) Require the manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product to (A) disclose any trade secret, or license any intellectual property, including, but not limited to, any copyright or patent, unless such disclosure or license is necessary for such manufacturer to comply with the provisions of this section, (B) make available any special documentation, tools or parts that would disable or override antitheft security measures set by the owner of any such product without such owner's authorization, or (C) sell any part if such manufacturer no longer (i) provides such part, or (ii) makes such part available to authorized repair providers;
(2) Require any manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product that is an authorized repair provider within the meaning of subparagraph (B) of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section to make available any documentation or tools that (A) such manufacturer exclusively uses to perform, at no cost to customers, remote diagnostic services, including, but not limited to, remote diagnostic services performed by way of the Internet, electronic mail or any chat function or telephonic means, that do not require such manufacturer to physically handle a customer's electronic or appliance product, unless such manufacturer also makes such documentation or tools available to any person who is unaffiliated with such manufacturer, or (B) are exclusively used by machines that simultaneously repair several electronic or appliance products, provided such manufacturer makes available to the owners of such product, service and repair facilities and service dealers sufficient alternative documentation and tools to diagnose, maintain or repair such product;
(3) Require distribution of the source code for an electronic or appliance product; or
(4) Apply to (A) the manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product if such manufacturer provides to a customer, at no charge to the customer, a replacement electronic or appliance product that is readily available and equivalent to, or better than, the replaced electronic or appliance product, (B) any dealer, distributor, importer or manufacturer of any equipment designed and manufactured exclusively for off-road or nonroad use, including, but not limited to, any (i) all-terrain sports vehicle, (ii) construction or compact construction equipment, (iii) electric vehicle charging infrastructure equipment, (iv) farm or utility tractor, (v) farm implement, (vi) farm machinery, (vii) forestry equipment, (viii) fuel cell, (ix) garden, turf or yard equipment, (x) generator set, (xi) industrial equipment, (xii) integrated, stand-alone, mobile or stationary internal combustion engine, (xiii) marine vehicle, (xiv) mining equipment, (xv) outdoor power equipment, (xvi) portable generator, (xvii) power tool, (xviii) racing vehicle, (xix) recreational vehicle, as defined in section 14-1, (xx) road building equipment, or (xxi) utility equipment, or (C) any accessory, attachment, component, repair part, technology or tool for any equipment described in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision.
(f) A violation of subsections (b) to (e), inclusive, of this section shall be deemed an unfair trade practice under subsection (a) of section 42-110b and shall be enforced solely by the Attorney General. The provisions of section 42-110g shall not apply to any such violation.
(P.A. 25-44, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 25-44 effective July 1, 2026.
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