A Conceptual Map of the Right to Repair: Where Upcycling Fits In

The chapter maps contemporary approaches to the Right to Repair along a spectrum from decentralised freedoms to centralised standard setting and product design. Decentralised approaches propose a Right to Repair that resembles a 'negative right' in that it protects user autonomy through dismantling legal and market barriers. Centralised repairability models, on the other hand, align more with a positive right that is built through stringent product design standards, obligations on manufacturers to repair products directly, and situate repair within larger circular economy governance models.Using the US and EU approaches to Right to Repair policy as illustrative poles, the chapter argues that while an effective repair agenda ultimately blends both of these approaches, policy that encourages and promotes upcycling requires crucial attention to decentralised (negative rights) approaches that emphasize intellectual property exceptions and competition law enforcement. The chapter's primary contention is that the decentralised and diverse nature of upcycling practices requires that policymakers think beyond technocratic and regulatory fixes in relation to product design, and address unfair uses of intellectual property rights and market power that restrict downstream innovation.