[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 129, 114th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


Public Law 114-51
114th Congress

An Act


 
To allow manufacturers to meet warranty and labeling requirements for
consumer products by displaying the terms of warranties on Internet
websites, and for other purposes. <>

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <>
SECTION 1 <> . SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``E-Warranty Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. <>  FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Many manufacturers and consumers prefer to have the
option to provide or receive warranty information online.
(2) Modernizing warranty notification rules is necessary to
allow the United States to continue to compete globally in
manufacturing, trade, and the development of consumer products
connected to the Internet.
(3) Allowing an electronic warranty option would expand
consumer access to relevant consumer information in an
environmentally friendly way, and would provide additional
flexibility to manufacturers to meet their labeling and warranty
requirements.
SEC. 3. ELECTRONIC DISPLAY OF TERMS OF WRITTEN WARRANTY FOR
CONSUMER PRODUCTS.

(a) In General.--Section 102(b) of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty--
Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act (15 U.S.C. 2302(b)) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
``(4)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the rules
prescribed under this subsection shall allow for the satisfaction of all
requirements concerning the availability of terms of a written warranty
on a consumer product under this subsection by--
``(i) making available such terms in an accessible digital
format on the Internet website of the manufacturer of the
consumer product in a clear and conspicuous manner; and
``(ii) providing to the consumer (or prospective consumer)
information with respect to how to obtain and review such terms
by indicating on the product or product packaging or in the
product manual--
``(I) the Internet website of the manufacturer where
such terms can be obtained and reviewed; and
``(II) the phone number of the manufacturer, the
postal mailing address of the manufacturer, or another
reasonable

[[Page 495]]

non-Internet based means of contacting the manufacturer
to obtain and review such terms.

``(B) <>  With respect to any requirement that
the terms of any written warranty for a consumer product be made
available to the consumer (or prospective consumer) prior to sale of the
product, in a case in which a consumer product is offered for sale in a
retail location, by catalog, or through door-to-door sales, subparagraph
(A) shall only apply if the seller makes available, through electronic
or other means, at the location of the sale to the consumer purchasing
the consumer product the terms of the warranty for the consumer product
before the purchase.''.

(b) <>  Revision of Rules.--
(1) <>  In general.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade
Commission shall revise the rules prescribed under such section
to comply with the requirements of paragraph (4) of such
section, as added by subsection (a) of this section.
(2) Authority to waive requirement for oral presentation.--
In revising rules <>  under paragraph (1),
the Federal Trade Commission may waive the requirement of
section 109(a) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2309(a)) to give
interested persons an opportunity for oral presentation if the
Commission determines that giving interested persons such
opportunity would interfere with the ability of the Commission
to revise rules under paragraph (1) in a timely manner.

Approved September 24, 2015.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 1359 (H.R. 3154):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 114-243 (Comm. on Energy and Commerce) accompanying
H.R. 3154.
SENATE REPORTS: No. 114-77 (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 161 (2015):
July 9, considered and passed Senate.
Sept. 8, considered and passed House.