Ferguson alleges Deere unlawfully maintained monopoly power in repair services by withholding repair capabilities from farmers.
“By withholding these repair capabilities, the complaint alleged Deere unlawfully acquired and maintained monopoly power in markets for repair services for Deere farm equipment.”
Ferguson states Deere exclusively controls software repair tools and previously restricted them to authorized dealers only.
“Deere makes the only software repair tools capable of performing all electronic repairs on Deere equipment. Deere, however, has previously made such tools available only to its authorized dealers,”
Ferguson describes how Deere restricted proprietary software repair tools to authorized dealers only, forcing farmer dependence.
“Deere, however, has previously made such tools available only to its authorized dealers, forcing farmers to rely on authorized dealers for many necessary repairs,”