Illinois McFlurry Lovers, This is the Best News You’ll Hear All Year
If you’ve ever pulled into a McDonald’s craving a McFlurry only to hear those fateful words, “The machine’s broken,” we’ve got some actual good news for once. Thanks to a new ruling, the ice cream machine nightmare might finally be coming to an end.
Sorry, our ice cream machine is broken.
I hate that sentence. Going to McDonald's for ice cream is never an afterthought. You pull in with that McFlurry or cone in mind, and that's it. Hearing an employee say the machine is broken is a big letdown that brings the whole car down.
Hold onto your spoons, Illinois—starting today, the odds of getting that elusive McFlurry just got better.
Victory in the Ongoing Battle with McDonald's Infamous Ice Cream Machines
Thanks to a new ruling from the U.S. Copyright Office, restaurants can finally bring in a fresh set of hands to fix those perpetually busted machines.
It turns out, the fight for your frozen treat wasn’t against melted ice cream but copyright law itself. These machines have "digital locks," and only the manufacturer—Taylor, aka The Gatekeeper of McFlurries—was legally allowed to mess with them.
Now, franchises can hire third-party repair technicians, and suddenly a working McFlurry machine feels like a real possibility.
Of course, this legal breakthrough wasn’t quick. Back in 2020, an independent company called Kytch even developed a device to help franchisees maintain these temperamental machines. Taylor, however, told franchisees to stop doing that, sparking a long legal showdown.
But thanks to repair-rights advocates like iFixit and Public Knowledge, which have previously fought for the rights to repair everything from Xboxes to tractors, McDonald's ice cream machines are now fair game for third-party repairs.
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And a fun fact, shared by Morning Brew: this ruling applies to medical equipment, too. So next time you’re waiting on that McFlurry, remember—whether it’s keeping your sundae intact or, you know, helping keep people alive, the “right to repair” movement is here to save the day, one machine at a time.
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