McDonald’s ice cream machines, frequently the subject of memes and ridicule from frustrated customers who say their quest for a cold treat is often thwarted by broken equipment, may get fixed more quickly.
Last week, the U.S. Copyright Office granted an exemption from existing copyright law, giving McDonald’s and other restaurants broader approval to repair “retail-level commercial food preparation equipment” without having to go through the manufacturer. The exemptions went into effect on Monday.
When a McDonald’s ice cream machine breaks down, simple fixes are often stymied by digital locks installed on the machines by the manufacturer, Taylor Company, according to iFixit, an online repair guide that helped petition for the exemption. A provision in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act made it illegal for a third party — like a franchiser or a McDonald’s employee — to bypass a digital lock. Repairs must be done by a manufacturer-authorized technician, iFixit said.
The exemption, iFixit wrote after the copyright office’s ruling, allows commercial food preparation equipment to be repaired “without needing to rely on costly service calls or manufacturer intervention.” The wait time for an authorized technician also delays the fix, according to Public Knowledge, a nonprofit technology and consumer advocacy group that also petitioned for the change.
McBroken, a website that tracks which ice cream machines at McDonald’s are out of commission, found that nearly 15 percent of the frozen treat makers were not working as of Friday.
Sometimes, broken ice cream machines can be fixed through back channels without calling a technician. A company called Kytch sold programs that did just that for hundreds of franchisees. But in 2021, McDonald’s started sending notices warning franchisees that the technology could lead to worker injuries.
The exemption applies to all retail-level commercial food preparation equipment, not just McDonald’s ice cream machines. But Meredith Rose, senior policy counsel at Public Knowledge, said the McDonald’s ice cream machines made by Taylor Company were an example that Public Knowledge and iFixit provided in its petition.
Neither McDonald’s nor Taylor Company, a food service equipment manufacturer based in Illinois, immediately responded to emails seeking comment.
Public Knowledge called the exemption a step in the right direction, though it said that it was not a total victory. The copyright register wrote that it declined “to recommend an exemption for a broader class of software-enabled commercial and industrial devices” that iFixit and Public Knowledge sought.
“They ended up granting us the commercial food prep because the evidence was pretty uncontrovertible,” Ms. Rose said in an interview on Friday. In a statement, Ms. Rose wrote that although Public Knowledge was “disappointed that the register recommended a narrower exemption than we had proposed, this does not soften our enthusiasm.”
The ruling came at a time when McDonald’s continues to struggle with an E. coli outbreak probably from slivered onions on its Quarter Pounder hamburger that has killed one person and sickened dozens.
McDonald’s has also played a role in the presidential election. On the campaign trail, Vice President Kamala Harris has highlighted her former employment at the fast-food chain, and former President Donald J. Trump recently worked briefly behind the counter at a location outside Philadelphia.
Mr. Trump later posted a photograph on X of him at the McDonald’s drive through window with a photoshopped appearance by President Biden holding an ice cream cone. The former president wrote: “WHEN I’M PRESIDENT THE MCDONALD’S ICE CREAM MACHINES WILL WORK GREAT AGAIN!”
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