Wheelchair Right to Repair Act

I 119TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5039 To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide an exception for circumven- tion for the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of a powered mobility assistance device, to require original equipment manufacturers of powered mobility assistance devices to make available certain documentation, diag- nostic, and repair information to independent repair providers and con- sumers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 26, 2025 Mr. F ROST (for himself and Ms. P EREZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide an excep- tion for circumvention for the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of a powered mobility assistance device, to require original equipment manufacturers of powered mo- bility assistance devices to make available certain docu- mentation, diagnostic, and repair information to inde- pendent repair providers and consumers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5039 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wheelchair Right to 2 Repair Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. EXCEPTION FOR CIRCUMVENTION OF COPYRIGHT 4 PROTECTION SYSTEMS. 5 Section 1201 of title 17, United States Code, is 6 amended by adding at the end the following new sub-7 section: 8 ‘‘(l) D IAGNOSIS, M AINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF 9 POWERED MOBILITY ASSISTANCE DEVICES.— 10 ‘‘(1) E XCEPTION FOR ACCESS .—Notwith-11 standing the provisions of subsection (a)(1)(A), it is 12 not a violation of that subsection for a person, for 13 the purpose of the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair 14 of a powered mobility assistance device, to cir-15 cumvent a technological measure that effectively 16 controls access to a work protected under this title. 17 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR MANUFACTURE , IMPORTA-18 TION, AND OFFER TO PUBLIC .—Notwithstanding the 19 provisions of subsections (a)(2) and (b)(1), it is not 20 a violation of that subsection for a person, for the 21 purpose of the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of 22 a powered mobility assistance device, to manufac-23 ture, import, offer to the public, provide, or other-24 wise traffic in any technology, product, service, de-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5039 IH vice, component, or part thereof described in that 1 subsection. 2 ‘‘(3) P OWERED MOBILITY ASSISTANCE DEVICE 3 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘powered 4 mobility assistance device’ means— 5 ‘‘(A) a motorized wheeled device designed 6 for use by an individual with a physical dis-7 ability; and 8 ‘‘(B) a wearable robotic device designed to 9 augment and enhance the physical ability of an 10 individual to walk.’’. 11 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO MAKE DIAGNOSTIC, MAINTE-12 NANCE, AND REPAIR TOOLS AVAILABLE TO 13 INDEPENDENT REPAIR PROVIDERS FOR POW-14 ERED MOBILITY ASSISTANCE DEVICE. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.— 16 (1) T OOLS PROVIDED .—In the case of a pow-17 ered mobility assistance device manufactured by or 18 on behalf of, sold, or otherwise supplied by an origi-19 nal equipment manufacturer, the original equipment 20 manufacturer shall make available, in a timely man-21 ner and on fair and reasonable terms, for the pur-22 pose of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the de-23 vice, to an independent repair provider and owner, 24 any documentation, part, embedded software, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5039 IH firmware, and other tool that is needed for repair of 1 the device. 2 (2) S ECURITY-RELATED FUNCTIONS NOT EX -3 CLUDED.—For a powered mobility assistance device 4 that contains an electronic security lock or other se-5 curity-related function, the original equipment man-6 ufacturer shall make available, in a timely manner 7 and on fair and reasonable terms, to an independent 8 repair provider and owner, any documentation, part, 9 embedded software, firmware, or other tool needed 10 to disable the lock or function, and to reset the lock 11 or function when disabled in the course of diagnosis, 12 maintenance, or repair of the device. Any such docu-13 mentation, part, software, firmware, or other tool 14 may be made available to an independent repair pro-15 vider and owner through an appropriate secure data 16 release system. 17 (3) N OTIFICATION AND PROCESS FOR RE -18 QUESTS REQUIRED .—Not later than 90 days after 19 the date of the enactment of this Act an original 20 equipment manufacturer of a powered mobility as-21 sistance device— 22 (A) shall provide to any such provider and 23 owner a clear and conspicuous notice of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5039 IH rights of the provider and owner under this 1 subsection; and 2 (B) shall establish and make public a 3 standard process by which a request can be 4 made by an owner or independent repair pro-5 vider under paragraphs (1) and (2). 6 (4) N OTIFICATION REQUIRED WITH PUR -7 CHASE.—An original equipment manufacturer of a 8 powered mobility assistance device shall provide with 9 any purchase of such device on and after the date 10 of the enactment of this Act a clear and conspicuous 11 notice of the rights of the owner and any other in-12 tended user of the device under this subsection. 13 (5) N OTIFICATION FOR INTENDED USERS .—An 14 independent repair provider and owner of a powered 15 mobility assistance device shall provider to any in-16 tended user of that device a clear and conspicuous 17 notice of the rights of the user under this sub-18 section. 19 (b) ENFORCEMENT.— 20 (1) E NFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE 21 COMMISSION.— 22 (A) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC -23 TICES.—A violation of subsection (a) shall be 24 treated as a violation of a rule defining an un-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5039 IH fair or deceptive act or practice prescribed 1 under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 2 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 3 (B) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION .— 4 (i) I N GENERAL .—The Commission 5 shall enforce this Act and any regulations 6 promulgated under this Act in the same 7 manner, by the same means, and with the 8 same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as 9 though all applicable terms and provisions 10 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 11 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into 12 and made a part of this Act, and any per-13 son who violates this Act or a regulation 14 promulgated under this Act shall be sub-15 ject to the penalties and entitled to the 16 privileges and immunities provided in the 17 Federal Trade Commission Act. 18 (ii) R EGULATIONS.—The Commission 19 may, under section 553 of title 5, United 20 States Code, prescribe any regulations it 21 determines necessary to carry out this Act. 22 (iii) E FFECT ON OTHER LAWS .— 23 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5039 IH limit the authority of the Commission 1 under any other provision of law. 2 (2) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN -3 ERAL.— 4 (A) I N GENERAL .—If the chief law en-5 forcement officer of a State, or an official or 6 agency designated by a State, has reason to be-7 lieve that any person has violated or is violating 8 subsection (a), the attorney general, official, or 9 agency of the State, in addition to any author-10 ity it may have to bring an action in State 11 court under State law, may bring a civil action 12 in any appropriate United States district court 13 or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, 14 including a State court, to— 15 (i) enjoin further such violation by 16 such person; 17 (ii) enforce compliance with such sub-18 section; 19 (iii) obtain civil penalties; and 20 (iv) obtain damages, restitution, or 21 other compensation on behalf of residents 22 of the State. 23 (B) N OTICE AND INTERVENTION BY THE 24 FTC.—The attorney general (or other such offi-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5039 IH cer) of a State shall provide prior written notice 1 of any action under paragraph (1) to the Com-2 mission and provide the Commission with a 3 copy of the complaint in the action, except in 4 any case in which such prior notice is not fea-5 sible, in which case the attorney general shall 6 serve such notice immediately upon instituting 7 such action. The Commission shall have the 8 right— 9 (i) to intervene in the action; 10 (ii) upon so intervening, to be heard 11 on all matters arising therein; and 12 (iii) to file petitions for appeal. 13 (C) L IMITATION ON STATE ACTION WHILE 14 FEDERAL ACTION IS PENDING .—If the Commis-15 sion has instituted a civil action for violation of 16 this Act, no State attorney general, or official 17 or agency of a State, may bring an action under 18 this paragraph during the pendency of that ac-19 tion against any defendant named in the com-20 plaint of the Commission for any violation of 21 this Act alleged in the complaint. 22 (D) R ELATIONSHIP WITH STATE LAW 23 CLAIMS.—If the attorney general of a State has 24 authority to bring an action under State law di-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5039 IH rected at acts or practices that also violate this 1 Act, the attorney general may assert the State 2 law claim and a claim under this Act in the 3 same civil action. 4 (c) LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE OR INJURY.—An original 5 equipment manufacturer or authorized repair provider is 6 not liable for any damage to or injury from any powered 7 mobility assistance device caused by an independent repair 8 provider or owner that occurs during the diagnosis, main-9 tenance, or repair of the device and is not attributable to 10 the original equipment manufacturer or authorized repair 11 provider, unless the damage or injury is attributable to 12 a design or manufacturing defect of the device. 13 (d) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 14 (1) A GREED UPON TERMS .—Nothing in this 15 section may be construed to alter any term of an ar-16 rangement between an authorized repair provider 17 and an original equipment manufacturer, including 18 the performance or provision of warranty or recall 19 repair work by an authorized repair provider on be-20 half of an original equipment manufacturer, except 21 that any such term that waives, avoids, restricts, or 22 limits the requirements of the original equipment 23 manufacturer to comply with this section is void and 24 unenforceable. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5039 IH (2) R EQUIREMENT TO SELL PARTS NOT AVAIL -1 ABLE.—Nothing in this section may be construed to 2 require an original equipment manufacturer to sell a 3 part if the part is no longer available. 4 (3) PROTECTION OF TRADE SECRETS .—Nothing 5 in this section may be construed to require an origi-6 nal equipment manufacturer to divulge a trade se-7 cret to an independent repair provider or owner, ex-8 cept as necessary to provide any documentation, 9 part, embedded software, firmware, or other tool in 10 accordance with this section. 11 (e) N OTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 12 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Com-13 mission shall identify, notify, and educate independent re-14 pair providers about the requirements of this section. 15 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 16 (1) AUTHORIZED REPAIR PROVIDER .—The term 17 ‘‘authorized repair provider’’— 18 (A) means a person that is unaffiliated 19 with the original equipment manufacturer and 20 has an arrangement with an original equipment 21 manufacturer under which the original equip-22 ment manufacturer grants the person a license 23 to use a trade name, service mark, or other pro-24 prietary identifier for the purposes of offering 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5039 IH the services of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair 1 of a powered mobility assistance device under 2 the name of the original equipment manufac-3 turer, or other arrangement with the original 4 equipment manufacturer to offer such services 5 on behalf of the original equipment manufac-6 turer; and 7 (B) includes an original equipment manu-8 facturer that provides diagnosis, maintenance, 9 or repair of a powered mobility assistance de-10 vice manufactured by that manufacturer and 11 that does not have an arrangement described in 12 subparagraph (A). 13 (2) C OMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 14 means the Federal Trade Commission. 15 (3) D OCUMENTATION.—The term ‘‘documenta-16 tion’’ means any manual, maintenance procedure, 17 functional and wiring diagram, reporting output, 18 service code description, circuit board schematic, se-19 curity code, password, training material, trouble-20 shooting information, list of required tools, parts 21 list, or other guidance or information used in pro-22 viding diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of a pow-23 ered mobility assistance device. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5039 IH (4) E MBEDDED SOFTWARE .—The term ‘‘em-1 bedded software’’— 2 (A) means any programmable software in-3 struction delivered with or loaded onto equip-4 ment, or a part of such equipment, to allow the 5 equipment or part to operate or communicate 6 with other computer hardware; and 7 (B) includes any relevant patch and fix 8 that the manufacturer makes for purposes of 9 diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of equipment. 10 (5) F AIR AND REASONABLE TERMS .—The term 11 ‘‘fair and reasonable terms’’, with respect to the pro-12 vision of a any documentation, part, embedded soft-13 ware, firmware, or other tool, means at costs and 14 terms that are equivalent to the most favorable costs 15 and terms under which an original equipment manu-16 facturer offers the documentation, part, software, 17 firmware, or tool to an authorized repair provider— 18 (A) accounting for any discount, rebate, 19 convenient means of delivery, means of enabling 20 fully restored and updated functionality, rights 21 of use, or other incentive or preference the 22 original equipment manufacturer offers to an 23 authorized repair provider, or any additional 24 cost, burden, or impediment the original equip-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 5039 IH ment manufacturer imposes on an independent 1 repair provider; 2 (B) not conditioned on or imposing a sub-3 stantial obligation or restriction that is not rea-4 sonably necessary for enabling the independent 5 repair provider or owner to engage in the diag-6 nosis, maintenance, or repair of the device 7 made by or on behalf of the original equipment 8 manufacturer; and 9 (C) not conditioned on an arrangement de-10 scribed in paragraph (1)(A). 11 (6) FIRMWARE.—The term ‘‘firmware’’ means a 12 software program or set of instructions programmed 13 on a powered mobility assistance device, or on a part 14 for such device, that allows the device or part to 15 communicate within the device or part or with other 16 device hardware. 17 (7) I NDEPENDENT REPAIR PROVIDER .—The 18 term ‘‘independent repair provider’’ means a person 19 that operates in a State, that does not have an ar-20 rangement described in paragraph (1)(A) with an 21 original equipment manufacturer, and who is en-22 gaged in the services of diagnosis, maintenance, or 23 repair of a powered mobility assistance device. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 5039 IH (8) O RIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER .— 1 The term ‘‘original equipment manufacturer’’ means 2 a person engaged in the business of selling, leasing, 3 or otherwise supplying new powered mobility assist-4 ance devices manufactured by or on behalf of itself, 5 to any individual or other person. 6 (9) O WNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ means a per-7 son who owns or leases powered mobility assistance 8 device purchased or used in the United States. 9 (10) P ART.—The term ‘‘part’’ means any re-10 placement part, new or used, generally available or 11 used by an original equipment manufacturer or an 12 authorized repair provider of the manufacturer for 13 providing maintenance or repair of a powered mobil-14 ity assistance device manufactured by or on behalf 15 of, sold, or otherwise supplied by the original equip-16 ment manufacturer. 17 (11) P OWERED MOBILITY ASSISTANCE DE -18 VICE.—The term ‘‘powered mobility assistance de-19 vice’’ means— 20 (A) a motorized wheeled device designed 21 for use by an individual with a physical dis-22 ability; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 15 •HR 5039 IH (B) a wearable robotic device designed to 1 augment and enhance the physical ability of an 2 individual to walk. 3 (12) T OOL.—The term ‘‘tool’’ means any soft-4 ware program, hardware implement, or other appa-5 ratus used for diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of 6 a powered mobility assistance device, including soft-7 ware or other mechanism that provisions, programs, 8 or pairs a new part, calibrates functionality, or per-9 forms any other function required to bring the prod-10 uct back to fully functional condition, including any 11 update. 12 (13) TRADE SECRET .—The term ‘‘trade secret’’ 13 has the meaning given that term in section 1839 of 14 title 18, United States Code. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Aug 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5039.IH H5039ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS