What is the "Right to Repair?" | All About the Base

This episode of All About the Base, a video series analyzing critical industrial base topics, analyzes the debate around the "Right to Repair" or whether the government should own and be able to distribute the technical data rights to repair equipment. Traditionally, original Equipment Manufacturers retain technical data rights to repair their products and be the sole source provider of maintenance and repair efforts for their equipment. Host Dr. Jerry McGinn, Director of the Center for the Industrial Base, speaks with Dr. Alexis Lasselle Ross, CIB affiliate and President of Apex Defense Strategies about the tradeoffs between encouraging commercial innovation through protection of intellectual property and technical data rights and the ability of the government to repair or distribute maintenance and repair efforts to other vendors and allies and partners. This debate concerns the tradeoffs between forward deterrence efforts, cost mitigation strategies, and innovation efforts.

All About the Base is made possible by general funding to CSIS.