If you've been craving a McFlurry, you might be in luck the next time you head to your nearest McDonald's
The McDonald’s Ice Cream Machine Might Actually Be Working the Next Time You Visit
Updated on Oct. 30, 2024
Most people know not to get their hopes up if they head to a McDonald’s for a McFlurry—it’s a running joke that the McDonald’s ice cream machine always seems to be broken when you swing by the drive-thru. The only thing more elusive than a working McDonald’s ice cream machine is a McDonald’s cake! And the worst kind of disappointment is being told that the ice cream machine is broken when you’re craving a McFlurry. But good news: All of that is about to change, thanks to a new legal ruling.
Before we dive into the news, let’s review the sordid history of the McDonald’s ice cream machine.
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Why are McDonald’s ice cream machines broken so often?
One big reason McDonald’s ice cream machines always seem to be McBroken is that the machines take forever to clean, taking up to four hours to sanitize—and it has to be done every single day. When the machines are in the process of being cleaned, they can’t serve ice cream. It’s easier to just say they’re broken than to try to explain this complicated process to customer after customer.
Reason No. 2 is what happens every time the ice cream machines are actually broken. Every McDonald’s restaurant is a franchise, meaning each one has an individual owner who operates under the McDonald’s business model and name. McDonald’s ice cream machines are considered copyrighted work, and that copyright belongs to McDonald’s Corporation. Each ice cream machine has a digital lock that allows repairs only by the original manufacturer of the machine, even if no copyright infringement occurs.
Here’s where it gets complicated: This system is in place because of a strict copyright law, Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA. This means that while franchise owners own the ice cream machine, they can’t make changes or repairs to it without going directly through McDonald’s Corporation. Then owners have to wait for McDonald’s to send an approved repair person to fix the machine. Because they aren’t legally allowed to hire any outside repair companies to perform maintenance, there’s never any telling how long it will take for repairs to be made.
Why are McDonald’s ice cream machines now easier to repair?
Luckily, fixing broken ice cream machines is about to get a lot simpler for McDonald’s restaurant owners. On Oct. 25, McDonald’s Corporation was granted an exemption request from the U.S. Copyright Office. This change means franchise owners are allowed to hire outside repair companies to bypass the digital locks on ice cream machines to fix broken equipment as long as they don’t do anything to alter the machine itself, which could still be considered copyright infringement. The machines are relatively easy to fix, but until now, it was just a matter of being legally allowed to repair them. Pretty soon, the days of the forever-broken McDonald’s ice cream machines will be behind us, just in time to enjoy the latest McFlurry makeover.
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Source:
- Public Knowledge: “Public Knowledge, iFixit Free the McFlurry, Win Copyright Office DMCA Exemption for Ice Cream Machines”
