excerpt from §8(3):
access to Repair and Maintenance Information:
after a period of two years after the placing on the market of the first unit of a model and until the end of the period mentioned under (1), the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative shall provide access to the household washing machine or household washer-dryer repair and maintenance information to professional repairers in the following conditions:
(a) the manufacturer’s, importer’s or authorised representative’s website shall indicate the process for professional repairers to register for access to information; to accept such a request, the manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives may require the professional repairer to demonstrate that:
(i) the professional repairer has the technical competence to repair household washing machines and household washer-dryers and complies with the applicable regulations for repairers of electrical equipment in the Member States where it operates. Reference to an official registration system as professional repairer, where such system exists in the Member States concerned, shall be accepted as proof of compliance with this point;
(ii) the professional repairer is covered by insurance covering liabilities resulting from its activity regardless of whether this is required by the Member State;
…
© manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives may charge reasonable and proportionate fees for access to the repair and maintenance information or for receiving regular updates. A fee is reasonable if it does not discourage access by failing to take into account the extent to which the professional repairer uses the information;
Indeed it sucks to not be an insured “professional repairer” in Europe.
Even a pro cannot get access after 10 years. But the manufacturer can of course supply their own repairers forever. So to get my own 15 year old machine fixed, I have to lick the maker’s boots. Seems a bit anti-competitive.
But on the upside from my quick scan of it, I see nothing to stop an amateur repairer from hiring a pro to proxy the docs and nothing to stop a pro from sharing the docs, which can then be liberated on the open web before the 10 year mark.