To the editor,

Around northwestern Wisconsin and our entire state, people take pride in being able to provide for our families and take care of ourselves. For many living paycheck to paycheck, that means becoming handy, and fixing our own stuff. But increasingly that's getting harder because manufactures use overbroad federal copyright law to lock out independent repair shops and do-it-yourself consumers.

This isn’t a niche problem either. It’s playing out across the entire economy with personal-use items, large and small. From tractors to refrigerators, consumers are being locked out of repairing stuff they already own. The problem is a provision in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a little talked about 1998 copyright law, that has been abused by large manufacturers to monopolize repair of products their customers already own outright. The result is less competition, higher prices, and fewer choices for everyday families.

The good news is that targeted updates to the DMCA could save American consumers billions each year just by letting people fix their own stuff. That’s real money back in the pockets of Wisconsin families who are already stretched thin.

Congressman Derrick Van Orden has consistently championed his constituents throughout his time in Congress, including supporting other repair-focused legislation, such as the REPAIR Act. Reforming the DMCA takes the appropriate next step and is exactly the kind of common sense, pro-consumer, pro-competition legislation he has championed before. Wisconsin families are counting on him to get it done.

Stephanie Potton

River Falls