Recent Ruling Could Mean An End To Eternally-Broken McDonald's McFlurry Machines

If you've ever been stymied by an out-of-service McFlurry ice cream machine at McDonald's, relief may be in sight. CNN reported that the United States Copyright Office issued a partial copyright exemption allowing individual restaurants a "right to repair" inoperative machines. For the consumer, the exemption — which goes into effect Monday, October 28, 2024 — could mean less frustration and more McFlurries, now with new sustainable packaging.

The seemingly perpetually out-of-service McDonald's ice cream machines are the stuff of legends, memes, and comedy routines. A few years ago, articles began appearing explaining that McDonald's works with a restaurant supply business called Taylor Company to provide machines for milkshakes, ice cream, and McFlurries. Prior to 2017, that was the only company a store could work with, and they could only get one model, the Taylor C602 made exclusively for McDonald's. Apparently it's still the dominant machine. Until this week's exemption, only Taylor Company technicians were allowed to work on the machines, which also requires a four-hour cleaning process by McDonald's staff, and are prone to various error codes. All of these complications lead to lengthy wait times for repairs.

According to CNN, the exemption was requested by two organizations: Public Knowledge, an advocacy group, and IFixIt, a site specializing in repair guides for a wide variety of products. IFixIt reported finding that ice cream machines like the Taylor C602 were often reported as broken due to software lockouts. When actual repairs were needed, there were "lots of easily replaceable parts."

The copyright protection allowing companies to mandate exclusive technicians is part of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). It makes it illegal to bypass digital locks, even when there is no attempt at copyright infringement.

"Every three years, we get a chance to ask the copyright office to exempt equipment from the DMCA," the IFixIt report states. The company says requests have worked for a wide variety of mechanical and tech products, "But so far, ice cream machines have remained illegal to fix."

The request from Public Knowledge and IFixIt was to allow anyone to circumvent the digital locks required for repairs. According to a release from Public Knowledge, the full scope request wasn't granted, but the exemption allows a "right to repair" for retail-level food preparation equipment. For restaurants it means third-party technicians can be hired for faster service, or the restaurants can make repairs themselves. In a prepared statement, Meredith Rose, senior policy council for Public Knowledge, said the exemption will "spark a flurry of third-party repair activity, and enable businesses to better serve their customers."