There needs to be some kind of comprehensive legislation passed that reaffirms ownership rights of the things that we buy. And it needs to be broad enough to protect consumers against corporations saying, “Well…actually…you just bought a license. You didn’t buy the product.” Buying a license to software, fine. But there should be no such thing as buying a license to hardware or any physical object, or even to the software inherent to the hardware. If it’s a lease, it needs to be clearly identified as a lease, not a purchase. Otherwise, if you purchase it, you own it, which means you can modify it, repair it, resell it, or use it forever, without the company being able to remotely brick it.
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