A STATEMENT FROM THE ASCDI
Joseph Marion, President of the Association of Service and Computer Dealers and the North American Association of
Telecom Dealers (ASCDI) made the following statement: “The ASCDI is supportive of the bill known as YODA (You Own Devices Act) introduced by Congressman Blake
Farenthold (R‐TX).
Representative Farenthold has shown a tremendous amount of courage by standing up for the rights of consumers,
small business and in fact anyone who believes in the basic American concept that when you buy something you have
the right to resell it, donate it, or give it away without restriction. Rep. Farenthold will surely receive pressure from
some manufacturers who are trying to take away our right to sell or otherwise dispose of technology products we
buy. These manufacturers claim that you don’t have the right to resell or choose who services your product because
it contains intellectual property that you never owned in the first place! That gives you two options when you are
done using their product. You can throw it into a land‐fill and buy another one from the manufacturer or you can
give it back to the manufacturer who will have the ONLY right to resell the used product. The choice is pollution or
feeding their monopoly.
The Farenthold bill fixes this growing problem and preserves our right to choose. It ensures that when you buy a
product that has a software component, YOU own it and have the right to sell, lend or even give it away.
Consumers, resellers, charities should consider Representative Farenthold a hero and give him the support he
deserves.”
About ASCDI
ASCDI is an international, not‐for‐profit trade organization made up of over 400 companies who provide
technology business solutions, technical support and value‐added services to the business community. For more
information on the ASCDI and its October meetings in Boston and Shanghai, please visit www.ascdi.com.