Immutable Provenance Makes the Right to Repair a Reality

Immutable provenance is the missing layer for the Right to Repair. Current supply chains rely on centralized databases, creating a single point of failure for trust. This opacity allows manufacturers to obfuscate part histories and restrict access to service manuals, directly enabling planned obsolescence.

Blockchain's permissionless ledger creates a canonical truth. Unlike a private database, a public ledger like Ethereum or Solana provides a tamper-proof audit trail for every component, from factory to final assembly. This shifts the power dynamic from gatekeepers to owners and independent technicians.

The technical precedent exists in DeFi and NFTs. Protocols like Chainlink for verifiable data and standards like ERC-721 for unique asset tracking demonstrate the infrastructure for itemized, on-chain lifecycles. The same primitives apply to physical goods when linked via cryptographic anchors.

Evidence: A 2022 US PIRG study found manufacturers deny critical repair information 45% of the time. An on-chain BOM (Bill of Materials) makes this denial technically impossible, transforming a legal battle into a cryptographic proof.

Provenance is a serviceable asset. A tamper-proof ledger of a product's components, ownership, and maintenance history is a new asset class. This data enables automated warranty validation, parts authentication, and service history portability, creating a market for verified repair services.

The right to repair is a data access problem. Manufacturers obfuscate schematics and part provenance to create repair monopolies. On-chain provenance, using standards like EIP-1155 for composable assets, makes this data public and machine-readable, breaking the information asymmetry.

Counter-intuitively, manufacturers will monetize this. By tokenizing parts and service records, OEMs like John Deere can create new revenue streams from aftermarket sales and certified service networks, aligning incentives with user ownership rather than against it.

Evidence: Projects like Bosch's cross-industry digital twin initiative and IOTA's decentralized identity for supply chains demonstrate that industrial players are already building the infrastructure to service provenance as a core business function.

The ledger is the law. An immutable, on-chain provenance record acts as a single source of truth for component history, ownership, and repair rights. This decentralized audit trail is anchored on public chains like Ethereum or Solana, making tampering economically infeasible and creating a cryptographic warranty.

Execution is permissioned. The second layer handles the physical repair workflow. Authorized repair shops query the ledger via verifiable credentials to confirm eligibility. This separation prevents the execution layer's complexity from compromising the provenance layer's integrity, mirroring the security model of rollups like Arbitrum.

Smart contracts enforce policy. Logic encoded in contracts on the provenance ledger automates compliance. A repair request triggers a check against the Digital Product Passport standard, releasing payment only after on-chain verification of certified parts, similar to an insurance oracle like Chainlink.

Evidence: The EU's Digital Product Passport mandate creates a multi-trillion-dollar asset class of verifiable goods, requiring this exact architectural separation to scale.

Immutable provenance is the kill switch for OEM repair monopolies. A public, tamper-proof ledger for parts and service history transfers ownership from the manufacturer to the asset itself. This creates a fork in the road for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

OEMs face a prisoner's dilemma. They can either embrace open standards like EIP-721 for non-fungible parts or fight a losing battle against a decentralized service network. The right to repair becomes a cryptographic guarantee, not a legal argument.

The open network wins on cost and trust. Independent mechanics with verified credentials on a Proof of Personhood protocol like Worldcoin access the same immutable history as dealerships. This creates a competitive service layer that OEMs cannot gatekeep.

Evidence: John Deere's capitulation to the right-to-repair movement in 2023 proves the economic pressure. An on-chain provenance standard like Ethereum's ERC-721 makes this concession permanent and global, not a temporary legal settlement.