For years, McDonald’s fans across the U.S. faced a familiar disappointment after visiting their local restaurant hoping for a McFlurry or ice cream cone, only to learn the ice cream machine was down. This frustration stemmed from McDonald’s dependence on specialized technicians from Taylor, the machines’ manufacturer, to service the frequently malfunctioning ice cream equipment.
However, this long-standing issue may soon see a resolution after the U.S. Copyright Office recently granted an exemption. This allows third-party technicians to diagnose and repair commercial food equipment, including McDonald’s ice cream machines.
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Previously, franchise owners were limited by digital locks set by Taylor. That prevented anyone outside the company from servicing the equipment.
The change followed efforts by repair advocates, who filed for an exemption last year under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). These advocates successfully argued that the law should allow qualified, independent technicians to bypass the machines’ digital locks for repairs.
As a result, franchise owners can now legally enlist third-party repair services, which could significantly reduce ice cream machine downtime.
This exemption is not the first of its kind. Past rulings have allowed consumers to “jailbreak” cellphones and repair certain components of video game consoles, signaling a broader shift in favor of consumer repair rights.
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An app called McBroken tracks McDonald’s ice cream machine outages in real time. McBroken’s interactive map displays a green or red dot for each location in the U.S., indicating whether machines are operational or broken.
As of the latest update, over 13% of McDonald’s ice cream machines nationwide were down. In New York City, nearly 40% were offline.
Starting this week, McDonald’s franchise owners will have the official go-ahead to bring in third-party repairs.
The new policy could mean fewer broken machines and fewer disappointed McFlurry fans nationwide.
Jack Aylmer
IF YOU’RE A MCDONALD’S FAN, YOU’VE PROBABLY EXPERIENCED THIS BEFORE. YOU STROLL INTO YOUR LOCAL MICKEY-DEES TO GET AN ICE CREAM, AND YOU’RE TOLD THE DREADED WORDS: “OUR MACHINE IS DOWN.”
AND THERE IS NOTHING THE MCDONALD’S WORKERS CAN DO. ONLY SPECIALIZED TECHS FROM THE MACHINES’ MAKER CAN FIX THEM.
THAT BUT COULD ALL BE CHANGING.
THE U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE GRANTED AN EXEMPTION ALLOWING THIRD PARTIES TO DIAGNOSE AND REPAIR COMMERCIAL FOOD EQUIPMENT—INCLUDING MCDONALD’S FAMOUSLY FINICKY ICE CREAM MACHINES.
FOR YEARS, FRANCHISE OWNERS HAVE BEEN STUCK WITH THESE MACHINES THAT FREQUENTLY BREAK DOWN, ALL BECAUSE OF DIGITAL LOCKS SET BY THE MACHINE’S MANUFACTURER, TAYLOR.
BUT NOW TECHNICIANS OUTSIDE OF TAYLOR WILL BE ABLE TO REPAIR THESE MACHINES, CUTTING DOWN THOSE DREADED WAIT TIMES FOR MCFLURRIES.
THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT PREVENTED OUTSIDE TECHS FROM BYPASSING DIGITAL LOCKS ON THE TAYLOR MACHINES..
BUT, LAST YEAR, REPAIR ADVOCATES FILED FOR AN EXEMPTION—AND IT PAID OFF. NOW, OTHERS CAN LEGALLY REPAIR THESE MACHINES.
PAST EXEMPTIONS HAVE COVERED THINGS LIKE JAILBREAKING CELL PHONES AND REPAIRING CERTAIN VIDEO GAME CONSOLE PARTS.’
AND THERE’S EVEN MORE GOOD NEWS FOR MCFLURRY FANS: THERE’S AN APP THAT TRACKS MACHINE OUTAGES IN REAL-TIME.
MCBROKEN LETS USERS CHECK IF THEIR LOCAL MCDONALD’S ICE CREAM MACHINE IS WORKING.
MCBROKEN MAPS EVERY MCDONALD’S IN THE U.S. WITH A GREEN OR RED DOT, SHOWING WHICH MACHINES ARE UP AND WHICH ARE OUT OF ORDER. AS OF TODAY, OVER 13-PERCENT OF MACHINES ARE DOWN NATIONWIDE. IN NEW YORK CITY, NEARLY 40-PERCENT ARE DOWN.
STARTING THIS WEEK, FRANCHISE OWNERS WILL OFFICIALLY BE ABLE TO BRING IN THIRD-PARTY REPAIRS, WHICH COULD MEAN FEWER BROKEN MACHINES—AND FEWER DISAPPOINTED MCFLURRY FANS.
FOR SAN, I’M JACK AYLMER
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