§ 6-1-1503 — Manufacturer obligations regarding services - exemptions

Colorado § 6-1-1503

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 06: Consumer
• Art.: Colorado Consumer Protection Act

Text

(1) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (1) is effective until January 1, 2026. ] Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section:

(a) For the purpose of providing services for equipment in the state, an
original equipment manufacturer shall, with fair and reasonable terms and costs,
make available to an independent repair provider or owner of the manufacturer's
equipment any documentation, parts, embedded software, embedded software for
agricultural equipment, firmware, tools, or, with owner authorization, data that are
intended for use with the equipment or any part, including updates to
documentation, parts, embedded software, embedded software for agricultural
equipment, firmware, tools, or, with owner authorization, data.

(b) With respect to equipment that contains an electronic security lock or
other security- related function, a manufacturer shall, with fair and reasonable
terms and costs, make available to independent repair providers and owners any
documentation, parts, embedded software, embedded software for agricultural
equipment, firmware, tools, or, with owner authorization, data needed to reset the
lock or function when disabled in the course of providing services. The
manufacturer may make the documentation, parts, embedded software, embedded
software for agricultural equipment, firmware, tools, or, with owner authorization,
data available to independent repair providers and owners through appropriate
secure release systems.

(1) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (1) is effective January 1, 2026. ] Except as provided in subsections (2) and (5) of this section:

(a) (I) For the purpose of providing services for digital electronic equipment,
agricultural equipment, or powered wheelchairs in the state, an original equipment
manufacturer shall, with fair and reasonable terms and costs, as applied to
agricultural equipment or powered wheelchairs, or fair and reasonable terms and
costs for digital electronic equipment, make available to an independent repair
provider or owner of the manufacturer's digital electronic equipment, agricultural
equipment, or powered wheelchair any documentation, parts, embedded software,
embedded software for agricultural equipment, firmware, or tools that are intended
for use with the digital electronic equipment, agricultural equipment, or powered
wheelchair or any part, including updates to documentation, parts, embedded
software, embedded software for agricultural equipment, firmware, or tools.

(II) A manufacturer shall make available to an independent repair provider or
owner, on fair and reasonable terms, any documentation, embedded software, tool,
part, or other device or implement that the manufacturer provides for effecting the
services of maintenance, repair, or diagnosis on the manufacturer's digital
electronic equipment.

(III) With respect to parts, a manufacturer complies with this subsection (1)(a)
if a contractor makes the parts available to an independent repair provider or owner
on behalf of the manufacturer.

(a.5) For the purpose of providing services for agricultural equipment in the
state, a manufacturer shall, with fair and reasonable terms and costs and with
owner authorization, make data available to an independent provider or owner,
including updates to the data.

(b) (I) With respect to agricultural equipment or a powered wheelchair that
contains an electronic security lock or other security- related function, a
manufacturer shall, with fair and reasonable terms and costs, as applied to
agricultural equipment or powered wheelchairs, make available to independent
repair providers and owners any documentation, parts, embedded software,
embedded software for agricultural equipment, firmware, tools, or, with owner
authorization, data needed to reset the lock or function when disabled in the course
of providing services. The manufacturer may make the documentation, parts,
embedded software, embedded software for agricultural equipment, firmware,
tools, or, with owner authorization, data available to independent repair providers
and owners through appropriate secure release systems.

(II) The requirement set forth in subsection (1)(b)(I) of this section does not
apply to digital electronic equipment.

(2) (a) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to:

(I) A part that is no longer available to the original equipment manufacturer;
and

(II) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (2)(a)(II) is effective until
January 1, 2026. ] Conduct that would require the manufacturer to divulge a trade
secret; except that a manufacturer shall not refuse to make available to an
independent repair provider or owner any documentation, part, embedded software,
embedded software for agricultural equipment, firmware, tool, or, with owner
authorization, data necessary to provide services on grounds that the
documentation, part, embedded software, embedded software for agricultural
equipment, firmware, tool, or, with owner authorization, data itself is a trade secret.

(II) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (2)(a)(II) is effective January 1,
2026. ] Conduct that would require the original equipment manufacturer of digital
electronic equipment, agricultural equipment, or powered wheelchairs to divulge a
trade secret; except that a manufacturer shall not refuse to make available to an
independent repair provider or owner any documentation, part, embedded software,
embedded software for agricultural equipment, firmware, tool, or, with owner
authorization, data necessary to provide services on grounds that the
documentation, part, embedded software, embedded software for agricultural
equipment, firmware, tool, or, with owner authorization, data itself is a trade secret.

(b) (I) A manufacturer may redact documentation to remove trade secrets
from the documentation before providing access to the documentation if the
usability of the redacted documentation for the purpose of providing services is not
diminished.

(II) A manufacturer may withhold information regarding a component of,
design of, functionality of, or process of developing a part, embedded software,
embedded software for agricultural equipment, firmware, or a tool if the
information is a trade secret and the usability of the part, embedded software,
embedded software for agricultural equipment, firmware, or tool for the purpose of
providing services is not diminished.

(3) [ Editor's note: This version of the introductory portion of subsection (3) is
effective until January 1, 2026. ] Neither an original equipment manufacturer nor an
equipment dealer is liable for faulty or otherwise improper repairs provided by
independent repair providers or owners, including faulty or otherwise improper
repairs that cause:

(3) [ Editor's note: This version of the introductory portion of subsection (3) is
effective January 1, 2026. ] Neither an original equipment manufacturer nor an
agricultural equipment dealer is liable for faulty or otherwise improper repairs
provided by independent repair providers or owners, including faulty or otherwise
improper repairs that cause:

(a) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (3)(a) is effective until January
1, 2026. ] Damage to powered wheelchairs or agricultural equipment that occurs
during such repairs;

(a) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (3)(a) is effective January 1,
2026. ] Damage to digital electronic equipment, powered wheelchairs, or
agricultural equipment that occurs during such repairs;

(b) Any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages; or

(c) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (3)(c) is effective until January 1,
2026. ] An inability to use, or a reduced functionality of, a powered wheelchair or
piece of agricultural equipment resulting from the faulty or otherwise improper
repair.

(c) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (3)(c) is effective January 1,
2026. ] An inability to use, or a reduced functionality of, a piece of digital electronic
equipment, powered wheelchair, or piece of agricultural equipment resulting from
the faulty or otherwise improper repair.

(4) A manufacturer that provides data to an independent repair provider in
compliance with this part 15 is neither responsible nor liable to the owner, the
independent repair provider, or another party for any action that the independent
repair provider or another party takes while using or relying on the data.

(5) With respect to digital electronic equipment, this part 15 does not apply
to:

(a) A person acting in the person's official capacity as a motor vehicle
manufacturer, manufacturer of motor vehicle equipment, or motor vehicle dealer;

(b) Any product or service of a person acting in the person's official capacity
as a motor vehicle manufacturer, manufacturer of motor vehicle equipment, or
motor vehicle dealer;

(c) A manufacturer or distributor of a medical device or any product or
service that the manufacturer or distributor of a medical device offers; except that
this part 15 applies to powered wheelchairs;

(d) Any digital electronic equipment product or software manufactured for
use in a medical setting, including diagnostic, monitoring, or control digital
equipment;

(e) Industrial, utility, construction, compact construction, mining, forestry, or
road-building digital equipment;

(f) Electric vehicle charging infrastructure equipment;

(g) Outside-the-meter commercial or industrial electrical equipment,
including power distribution equipment, and any tools, attachments, accessories,
components, and replacement and repair parts of the electrical equipment;

(h) Portable generators, energy storage systems, fuel cell power systems, or
power tools;

(i) Marine vessels, aviation, all-terrain sport vehicles, and recreational
vehicles, including racing vehicles;

(j) Safety communications equipment, the intended use of which is for
emergency response or prevention purposes by an emergency system organization,
such as a police, fire, life safety, or medical and emergency rescue services agency;

(k) Equipment installed for the purpose of energy storage, renewable power
generation, power management, or distribution;

(l) Set top boxes, modems, routers, or all-in-one devices delivering internet,
video, and voice services that are distributed by a video, internet, or voice service
provider if the service provider offers equivalent or better, readily available
replacement equipment at no charge to the customer;

(m) Video game consoles; or

(n) Fire alarm systems, intrusion detection equipment that is provided with a
security monitoring service, life safety systems, and physical access control
equipment, including electronic keypads and similar building access control
electronics.

(o) [ Editor's note: Subsection (5)(o) is effective January 1, 2026. ] Devices,
components, or systems designed to perform or facilitate quantum information
processing, including, solely to the extent necessary for such processing, storing,
computing, communicating, measuring, or sensing quantum information, through
manipulation, measurement, sensing, or utilization of quantum phenomena, limited
to instances where the phenomena are integral to the device's primary function,
including quantum superposition, quantum entanglement, quantum interference,
quantum tunneling, or quantum transduction; or

(p) [ Editor's note: Subsection (5)(p) is effective January 1, 2026. ] Quantum
sensing devices that exploit quantum phenomena, limited to instances where the
phenomena are integral to the device's primary function, such as quantum
coherence, quantum entanglement, quantized energy states that do not include the
semiconductor band gap phenomenon, quantum squeezing, quantum superposition,
quantum interference, quantum transduction, or quantum tunneling, to detect,
measure, or monitor physical quantities, environmental parameters, or external
stimuli.

(6) [ Editor's note: Subsection (6) is effective January 1, 2026. ] With respect
to digital electronic equipment, nothing in this section:

(a) Requires a manufacturer to license any intellectual property, including
obtaining a copyright or patent for any intellectual property, unless such licensing
is necessary for providing services;

(b) Requires the distribution of a product's source code;

(c) Requires a manufacturer to make available special documentation, tools,
or parts that would disable or override any privacy or anti-theft security measures
for the owner's digital electronic equipment that the owner has set for the digital
equipment;

(d) Requires a manufacturer to make available documentation or tools used
exclusively for repairs that are completed by machines that operate on several
pieces of digital electronic equipment simultaneously if the manufacturer makes
available to owners and independent repair providers sufficient alternative
documentation or tools for the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of digital
electronic equipment;

(e) Shall be construed to require any original equipment manufacturer or
authorized repair provider to make available any parts, tools, or documentation
required for the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of digital electronic equipment in
a manner that is inconsistent with or in violation of any federal laws, such as federal
laws regarding gaming and entertainment consoles, related software, and
components; or

(f) Requires a manufacturer to provide or make available a tool or
documentation to an independent repair provider or owner if the manufacturer
itself uses the tool or documentation only to perform, at no cost, diagnostic
services virtually through use of a telephone, the internet, chat, email, or other
similar means of communication that do not involve the manufacturer physically
handling the customer's digital electronic equipment, unless the manufacturer also
makes the tool or documentation available to an individual or business that is
unaffiliated with the manufacturer.

(7) [ Editor's note: Subsection (7) is effective January 1, 2026. ]

(a) Except as provided in subsection (7)(b) of this section, for digital electronic
equipment that is manufactured for the first time and sold or used in the state after
January 1, 2026, a manufacturer shall not use parts pairing to:

(I) Prevent an independent repair provider or owner from installing or
enabling, or inhibit an independent repair provider's or owner's ability to install or
enable, the function of an otherwise functional replacement part or component of
digital electronic equipment, including a replacement part or component that the
manufacturer has not approved;

(II) Reduce the functionality or performance of digital electronic equipment;
or

(III) Cause digital electronic equipment to display misleading alerts or
warnings about unidentified parts, particularly if the alerts or warnings cannot
immediately be dismissed by the owner.

(b) Nothing in this part 15 prohibits:

(I) The use of parts pairing to enable digital electronic equipment to record,
catalog, and display information related to repairs done on that digital electronic
equipment; or

(II) A manufacturer's use of parts pairing for standalone biometric
components used for authentication purposes in digital electronic equipment,
which components are not bundled in commonly replaced parts, such as a device's
screen, keyboard, ports, or battery.

(8) [ Editor's note: Subsection (8) is effective January 1, 2026. ] Before
providing services for digital electronic equipment, an independent repair provider
shall provide the owner seeking services written notice, provided on site and in a
conspicuous location at the independent repair provider's premises for providing
services or provided in an email to the owner, indicating:

(a) That the independent repair provider is not an authorized repair provider
of the digital equipment's manufacturer; and

(b) Whether the independent repair provider, in providing services, uses any
new or used replacement parts obtained from a supplier other than the
manufacturer.

(9) [ Editor's note: Subsection (9) is effective January 1, 2026. ] An original
equipment manufacturer is not responsible for the quality or functionality of parts
provided by a third-party parts manufacturer.

(10) [ Editor's note: Subsection (10) is effective January 1, 2026. ] Nothing in
this part 15 authorizes an owner or independent repair provider to alter digital
electronic equipment in a manner that brings the equipment out of compliance with
any applicable federal or state laws, including any applicable federal or state rules
or regulations.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2022: Entire part added, (HB 22-1031), ch. 327, p. 2310, � 2, effective January 1, 2023. L. 2023: (1), (2)(a)(II), (2)(b)(II), IP(3), (3)(a), and (3)(c) amended and (4) added, (HB 23-1011), ch. 107, p. 386, � 3, effective January 1, 2024. L. 2024: (1), (2)(a)(II), IP(3), (3)(a), and (3)(c) amended and (5) to (10) added, (HB 24-1121), ch. 258, p. 1706, � 2, effective January 1, 2026. L. 2025: (5)(o) and (5)(p) added, (HB 25-1330), ch. 408, p. 2323, � 2, effective January 1, 2026.