McDonald’s May Finally Have a Fix for Its Broken Ice Cream Machine Epidemic
A Glimmer of Hope for McDonald’s Ice Cream Lovers
McDonald’s often maligned, seemingly perennially-broken ice cream machines could soon become a thing of the past.
The Fix is in the Works
On October 25, the United States Copyright Office granted a copyright exemption that gives restaurants like McDonald’s the "right to repair" broken machines by circumventing digital locks that prevent them from being fixed by anyone other than its manufacturer.
A Brief History of the Problem
The Golden Arches’ vanilla cones, sundaes, and McFlurries are all made in machines from Taylor Company, as they have been for nearly 70 years. Back in 1956, future McDonald’s CEO Ray Kroc made a handshake agreement with Taylor to supply milkshake machines as McDonald’s exclusive supplier. The Taylor company holds a copyright on its machines, and in the past that has meant that if one broke, only its repair people were legally allowed to fix it.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
This is due to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a 1998 law that criminalizes making or using technology, devices or services that circumvent the control access of copyrighted works.
The McBroken Map
In 2020, amid public outcry about broken machines, a developer created the "McBroken" map, a website that uses data from the McDonald’s app that shows where ice cream products are "currently unavailable" to give real-time updates on which McDonald’s ice cream machines are working. As of October 29, McBroken reports that 14.72% of McDonald’s stores are not currently selling ice cream.
A Possible Solution
The exemption granted by the United States Copyright Office went into effect on October 28 and was jointly petitioned for by repair-focused website iFixIt and advocacy group Public Knowledge. In 2023, iFixIt documented its teardown of McDonald’s machines and said it spat out multiple "nonsensical, counterintuitive, and seemingly random" error codes, but it couldn’t do anything to repair it.
The Impact
Meredith Rose, senior policy counsel at Public Knowledge, said that the Copyright Office’s decision will lead to an "overdue shake-up of the commercial food prep industry." "There’s nothing vanilla about this victory," Rose said in a statement. "An exemption for retail-level commercial food preparation equipment will spark a flurry of third-party repair activity and enable businesses to better serve their customers."
The Limitations
Rose notes that despite the exemption, it’s still illegal to sell or traffic in the digital lockpicks that allow people to fix these machines. "Even though users and independent repair services have the official blessing of the federal government to go forth and pick the locks in order to repair these machines, they still cannot legally acquire the tools to do so," she says. "Congress needs to legalize the tools so that people can actually take advantage of these exemptions."
Conclusion
The Copyright Office’s decision is a step in the right direction towards giving McDonald’s customers the ice cream they crave. However, it’s clear that there are still hurdles to overcome before the broken ice cream machine epidemic is a thing of the past.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)?
A: The DMCA is a 1998 law that criminalizes making or using technology, devices or services that circumvent the control access of copyrighted works.
Q: What is the McBroken map?
A: The McBroken map is a website that uses data from the McDonald’s app to show where ice cream products are "currently unavailable" and give real-time updates on which McDonald’s ice cream machines are working.
Q: What is iFixIt?
A: iFixIt is a repair-focused website that documents the teardown of various products, including McDonald’s ice cream machines.
Q: What is Public Knowledge?
A: Public Knowledge is an advocacy group that works to promote fair use and fair access to technology.
