[crooked-v]

> up until recently copyright/DMCA prevented them from repairing the ice cream machines

That's a red herring. The actual thing preventing them is the franchise contracts that require all ice cream machine maintenance be performed by a specific company, because McD's corporate knows that otherwise franchisees will cut corners and leave the brand associated with listeria outbreaks.

[ccnjfkggkkcj]

Isn't that Apple's argument for not allowing you to get your battery replaced by a 3rd party, because customers might buy a cheap off brand battery and it could cause their phone to catch fire?

[crooked-v]

Yes. The difference is that, unlike possible phone fires, we know franchises will cause listeria outbreaks if left to their own devices because they have done so. It was a whole thing in the 90s and the obvious reason why McD's implemented the current policy in the first place.