You Don't Own That Tractor

You don't own your tractor and you don't own your car. You're just leasing it, for all intents and purposes from the manufacturer, (even if you've "paid it off"). That's the case that the corporations are making to the Copyright Office, anyway. Since they've managed to put so much software into your modern vehicles, (like your John Deere tractor and your Honda) they are using the DMCA to assert ownership over your vehicle. You're just buying a license to use the vehicle. This kind of nonsense goes a long way towards destroying what little faith people have in the concept of Property Rights and the "intellectual property" movement. I, as a consumer am at the mercy of these corporations and their highly paid lawyers, if I want to attempt to repair my own vehicle. They assert that they, not I, are the real owners of the vehicle, because they wrote a a few pages of code to aid in the operation of the vehicle. Sorry, intellectual property mavens, I don't buy it. I didn't sign a contract or users license when I purchased my vehicle that allowed for anything other than full ownership of the vehicle and its contents, software included. If I want to tinker with it, that's my affair once it's in my hands. This nonsense has to be stopped. At the rate we're going the entire concept of ownership will be destroyed, and with it, our basic rights as property owners.