Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: E-Warranty Act signed into law, (Sep 28, 2015)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

The “E-Warranty Act of 2015,” which allows manufacturers and sellers of consumer products to satisfy certain Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act obligations by displaying warranty terms on the manufacturer’s website, became law on September 24. Now the FTC has one year to update its rules that govern the content and availability of product warranties.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the corresponding FTC's warranty rules require sellers and warrantors to disclose specific terms and to make the terms available to consumers prior to sale. The law, which was approved by Congress on September 8, is intended to update these obligations in light of modern methods of communication.

Under the measure, manufacturers that make their warranties available online must provide consumers and prospective consumers with information on how to obtain and review their warranties. That information should appear on the products themselves, their packaging, or in the product manuals. Protections will remain in place for consumers who do not have access to the Internet. Manufacturers must provide consumers and potential consumers with the phone numbers, mailing addresses, or another reasonable non-Internet means that consumers may use to contact manufacturers to obtain copies of the warranties.

The E-Warranty Act is Public Law 114-51.

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews