Is Planned Obsolescence Legal in India

They argue that these electronics manufacturers promote a culture of «planned obsolescence» – meaning that devices are specifically designed for a limited time and can be replaced. This leads to immense pressure on the environment and the waste of natural resources. By Gautam Mahajan. The author is founding editor of the Journal of Creating Value; mentor, creating an alliance of values; President, Customer Value Foundation. He can be reached at mahajan@customervaluefoundation.com, writing in my New Normal article about Phil Kotler`s suggestion that marketing should focus on the most useful and necessary than selling more. In the new normal, I suggested investigating planned obsolescence and perhaps doing more repairs and reuse. Why should a mobile phone last two years and cost so much? Product obsolescence destroys value for consumers and the environment and creates value for manufacturers. Smartphone manufacturers no longer support two-year-old models. Planning includes low-quality components or software that can fail in two years and does not provide upgrades. And even worse, make hardware changes to attract switching, like a better camera. My camera works well on my OnePlus 5 and my friends say it great. But now I`m tempted by the OnePlus 8`s camera because it`s probably better (this step to buy the OnePlus 8 isn`t because my old phone camera is obsolete.

Yes, its battery is weakened. Is it due to planned obsolescence?) Software errors also occur on printers. Thus, in addition to artificial durability, we also have the prevention of repairs, two value destroyers. Other examples include: Bulb manufacturers have spent years dropping bulbs after 1,000 hours. Irreplaceable batteries that die after about a year cause value destruction. If an ink cartridge cannot be refilled or a cartridge is exposed, it must be replaced, which is triggered by a microchip or light sensor, forcing premature replacement. University textbooks, nylon stockings, fashion items, video games should all become replaceable. Morris B. Holbrook, W.T.

Dillard Professor Emeritus of Marketing, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, wrote to me: «I was thinking in particular of Microsoft`s habit of introducing a new operating system every few years and revamping old ones. Lately we have had Windows 7, 8, 10 and so on. I had a laptop that was about ten years old but still worked well. But Windows stopped «supporting» its operating system. Then my PC stopped working with Windows 7. I had to buy new computers. And – if this happens – I also have to buy replacement versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and so on. Microsoft only counts money. And. It`s boring. For a while, I was angry with Bill Gates. But I notice that he has become a fairly generous philanthropist.

So when I`m robbed by Microsoft, I`m supporting worthy charities in some way. At least, that`s my rationalization. Camille Paglia characterizes contemporary academic discourse, influenced by French theorists such as Lacan, Derrida and Foucault, as the academic equivalent of branded consumption. «Lacan, Derrida and Foucault,» she says, «are the academic equivalents of BMW, Rolex and Cuisinart.» [34] Inspired by the latest academic fashion, academic planned obsolescence is about producing low-value content for the same reason fashion designers launch new fashions. In 2015, as part of a broader movement against planned obsolescence across the European Union, the France passed a law requiring equipment manufacturers and sellers to declare the expected lifespan of the product and inform consumers about how long spare parts for a particular product will be manufactured. Starting in 2016, device manufacturers will be required to repair or replace defective products free of charge within two years of the original purchase date. This effectively creates a mandatory two-year warranty. [30] This planned obsolescence leads to an increase in environmental problems such as e-waste batteries, heat trapping emissions, pollution, etc. Manufacturing an electronic device is a pollution-prone process that uses silicon, fossil fuels, etc.

The raw material used to make an iPhone accounts for 83% of heat storage emissions in the atmosphere over its lifetime. The production of a washing machine emits 57% of heat storage emissions over its lifetime. If properly implemented, the right to repair will reduce the environmental impact of the equipment. Always remember that we did not inherit this land from our ancestors, but from our grandchildren. Two processes currently underway make DRM dangerous: one is the trend towards more licenses and fewer sales. Entertainment and even educational content are increasingly being streamed rather than sold today, reducing users` control over that content. The second process that is more important in the context of this article is that software, even if it is part of another product or device, such as a refrigerator, is increasingly considered licensed rather than sold. As more and more products incorporate software and digital intelligence, they will bring these new methods of closed software and planned obsolescence. The European Parliament has not sufficiently taken into account these worrying trends in the consumer equipment sector. The concept of planned obsolescence, which leads to an increase in e-waste, is particularly dangerous today, as electronics is the largest and most dynamic industry in the world and is increasingly used in all sectors of the economy.

One way to solve the problem of POs is to amend the law or design an appropriate framework for its legal regulation. However, the circular economy itself offers a valuable opportunity by providing another way to tackle this problem. The opportunity is to strengthen consumer protection through the «environmental route». This approach could involve the use of many strategies, including, but not limited to, for example, providing minimum requirements for sustainability logos and information devices, an additional focus on the information and communication technology (ICT) and electronics sectors in the context of the circular economy and/or a focus on forward-looking research on how the «circular economy» can Contribute to the best: Achieving sustainability in the Indian context. It therefore offers the possibility to recognize and realize a «right to reparation» by other means, while addressing the problems of separating e-waste at source and on a larger scale, (not) compromising development objectives (social, economic or legal) while effectively pursuing visions of sustainability, as the case of the European Union is trying to do with its Green Deal. An exclusive legal or regulatory framework for PO may not be in place anytime soon, and the task of balancing the different interests may be left to the judiciary. If anything is clear from the current situation, it is that there will be a battle for consistency of decisions due to a number of arrogant factors. Srikant Kale v. Suzuki Motorcycle India, which did not follow Kataria`s standards and rejected the application without due consideration of «information asymmetry» as a concept. Therefore, it is of tangible benefit to look at the right to redress from the perspective of consumer rights and digital freedoms.

The removal of barriers to entry is a prerequisite for local players in software manufacturing and development to thrive.