Update: Fundamental Change to U.S. Warranty Law: Consumer Warranties Can Soon be Posted Online

Recent changes to the federal statute governing warranties on consumer products will make it easier and more cost-effective for consumer product manufacturers and suppliers to satisfy the federally-mandated warranty notification requirements. On September 24, 2015, President Obama signed into law the E-Warranty Act of 2015. The E-Warranty Act amends the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 (the “MMWA”) modernizing the warranty notification requirements. It allows manufacturers and suppliers of retail products to publish the terms and conditions of consumer product warranties online rather than including the terms and conditions with the products themselves. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) was required to issue new rules no later than September 24, 2016 to reflect the terms of the E-Warranty Act. In accordance with this mandate, on May 24, 2016, the FTC published a notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comment, outlining its proposed changes to the federal regulations governing consumer warranties. The deadline for submitting comments was June 17, 2016. On September 6, 2016, the FTC announced its approval of the final amendments to the rules.

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