McDonald’s ice cream machines have become famous over the years for how often they break down. There’s even a website – called McBroken – dedicated to tracking McDonald’s restaurants where the ice cream machine isn’t working.

Wendy’s took advantage of its rival’s adversity last month by partnering with McBroken to add its locations to the menu while promoting its $1 Frosty special. In 2022, Jack in the Box also made fun at McDonald’s machines. There was even a some trials related to equipment malfunction.

Related: Jack in the Box Exploits “McDisappointment” About Broken Ice Cream Machines During Shamrock Shake Season

However, this fodder may be coming to an end. The US Copyright Office has just granted an exemption which allows third parties to diagnose and repair commercial equipment, including McDonald’s ice cream machines.

As The Verge explainsCopyright law prevents any company other than the manufacturer, which in McDonald’s case is Taylor Company, from circumventing its software locks. This posed a challenge given that McDonald’s employees described the process of maintaining the machines as “too complicated” with an overnight cleaning cycle that can easily fail and requires a Taylor repairman to fix it. as reported by the Wall Street Journal in 2021.

Related: Political fodder aside, McDonald’s is having a rough week

Earlier that year, Taylor was hit by a lawsuit accusing the company for having a monopoly on line repairs and refusing to allow customers to use outside sources to have the machines repaired. Franchisees took it upon themselves to seek external solutions to their broken ice machines, ultimately leading to the Copyright Office’s decision last week.

Last year, iFixit and Public Knowledge requested an exemption from copyright law after taking the machine apart. This exemption was supported by the United States Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. in May before going to the Copyright Office.

Notably, the FTC has begun investigating the outage ice machines in 2021 after a series of complaints and petitions signed by McDonald’s employees and customers demanding that the problem be resolved.

In its ruling last week, the Copyright Office did not grant the full scope of the requested exemption, but an exemption specifically allowing repair of food preparation equipment at the retail level, including McDonald’s soft-serve ice cream machines, was granted.

“Today’s recommendations are a win for everyone: franchise owners, independent repair shops and anyone who has had to bribe their kids with a frozen treat on long road trips. It’s been a long and rocky road to securing the right to repair, and while there are many dips and twists and turns ahead, today’s decision by the Copyright Office will cause upheaval long overdue in the commercial food preparation industry. There is nothing vain in this victory; an exemption for commercial retail food preparation equipment will spark a wave of third-party repair activity and allow businesses to better serve their customers,” Public Knowledge senior policy advisor. Meredith Rose said in a statement.

Contact Alicia Kelso at (email protected)