FTC's John Deere Settlement Signals Scrutiny of Aftermarket Repair Re…

The FTC settled its lawsuit against John Deere, requiring the company to provide farmers and independent repair providers with the same repair tools, software, and diagnostics previously restricted to authorised dealers, on fair and reasonable pricing terms. The settlement signals heightened regulatory scrutiny of aftermarket repair restrictions across industries and establishes a 50-percent dealer threshold triggering parity obligations for new repair resources. If you lock repair tools behind software or dealer networks, the FTC now has a playbook to force you open—and the settlement sets a pricing formula that kills margin-through-scarcity strategies. Any hardware or equipment business using software as a gatekeeper should audit that strategy this week.