The World Assembly,
Concerned that the lack of regulations for consumer goods can lead to unfair selling practices;
Believing that it is essential to establish regulations for consumer goods to protect consumers;
Hereby:
1. Defines:
- a. "Consumer Goods" as any product made for the public, including both tangible and digital products but not services. "CG" will be used henceforth to refer to consumer goods,
b. "Specialized Equipment" as CG that, due to their unique design, functionality, or performance requirements, necessitate the use of non-standardized fasteners. These would be CG where standardized fasteners could compromise the safety, performance, or essential functions. If CG only require non-standardized fasteners for certain parts of CG they must use standardized fasteners everywhere else,
c. "Personalized" as products for which the consumer has requested and received specific features, options, or modifications beyond the standard configurations offered by the manufacturer which are not easily reversible without significant cost or difficulty;
d. "Standardized Fasteners" as reusable hardware devices that mechanically connect objects together. These hardware devices must be removable, without influencing the reusability, without tools, a tool or multiple tools supplied with the CG, or with commercially available tools not solely sold by the CG manufacturer,
e. "Replaceable Spare Parts" as spare parts that can realistically be replaced by the consumer or a repair professional,
f. "Mark-Up" as the percentage added, excluding any potential taxes, to the total cost of producing, shipping, and handling CG. This percentage represents the profit earned by the company, and
g. "Repairable CG" as any tangible, manufactured CG made for the public excluding consumable goods, perishable goods, single-use goods, and goods not intended for repeated use.
2. Mandates, from 24 months after the passage of this resolution, all member states and companies to:
- a. Honor a 14-day cooling-off period for CG, going into effect after receiving the CG, in which consumers can return CG without specifying a reason and receive a full refund excluding potential shipping costs, unless:
- I. The CG are perishable or have a limited shelf life,
II. The CG are personalized,
III. The CG are purchased from a private individual,
IV. The CG have suffered damage or have been used in a way that has altered the CG specifications from its original state, not including damage to the packaging or the unsealing of the CG unless the CG value is significantly affected,
V. The CG are tickets, or
VI. The CG are downloaded digital media or opened physical media,
c. Provide consumers and independent repair professionals with access to necessary repair information for repairable CG, including manuals, schematics, and diagnostic tools,
d. Assign repairability scores to repairable CG, via a universal system developed and managed by the International Measurements Institute (IMI). It will take into account the ease of repair, the price of first party spare parts, and the price and service of first party repair professionals. This score must be clearly visible before buying the repairable CG,
e. Prohibit the manufacturer from implementing software locks on repairable CG that prevent independent repairs or the use of non-original parts,
f. Preserve consumer warranties despite independent or third-party repairs, unless such repairs damage or worsen the CG condition,
g. Make replaceable spare parts available within two months of the repairable CG release until six years post-discontinuation, with mark-ups not exceeding those on corresponding CG,
h. Utilize standardized fasteners for repairable CG to facilitate ease of disassembly and reassembly during repair processes. Exemptions are made for specialized equipment, and
i. Provide consumers with a warranty of 2 years or longer, starting from the date of arrival. During this period, customers can return CG that are defective or exhibit performance issues, with the company paying potential shipping costs. The company must then either provide a full refund including any potential shipping costs or repair the CG. The company does not have to provide any refunds or repairs if the defects or performance issues are caused by intentional or accidental damage that occurs post-production to the CG unless said damage is a direct result of the improper design or manufacturing of the CG. This also applies to used products if they are sold by a company and not by a private individual. The company handling the CG at any stage in the process, is held responsible for damages that occur during the time they are handling the CG.
This bill was originally called the Consumer Goods Act and featured safety and consumer rights laws, since it was too long I've split it up. This is just the Rights Act. See the Consumer Safety Act here
