John Deere Repair Software Opened by FTC: Antitrust Template for Cars…

The FTC secured a court order requiring John Deere to provide farmers and independent repair shops with diagnostic software, repair manuals, and electronic reprogramming tools previously locked to authorized dealers. This marks the first federal antitrust precedent that withholding repair software to control who can service a physical product constitutes illegal monopolization—a legal theory now directly applicable to automotive, medical device, and smartphone manufacturers. If you make automotive, medical devices, or phones with software locks that force customers to use your service network, you've just lost your legal defence. The FTC has built the template—expect enforcement to follow the same pattern, and expect independent service shops to start competing on your locked platforms within months.