Part III of Issues Regarding the Resale Laser Market

This final blog in the resale laser market segment focuses on two related issues: Laser manufacturers’ refusal to service lasers and light based medical equipment sold on the resale market an restrictions on who may repair/service a medical aesthetic laser.

These policies and restrictions are violative of the restraint of trade provisions of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Uniform Commercial Code. In many instances, an owner of a medical aesthetic laser or light device cannot obtain service on the device or they are able to obtain service but it is at an exorbitant price and discriminatory as indicated in the above discussion. In other instances, the owner of the device can get service, but the service technician is unable to obtain a needed part in order to repair the laser.

These policies violate the Sherman Act and/or the UCC and Robinson-Patman Act. An analogy would be that an owner of a used BMW cannot get service at a BMW dealership because they are not the original owner. Another analogy would be that a repair facility of choice cannot repair a BMW because the manufacturer will not provide the needed part for an arbitrary or less than legitimate business purpose. A third analogy would be that a BMW dealership has different parts or service pricing depending upon whether you are the original owner.

In all of these analogies, the conduct would violate the spirit and intent of the respective federal laws. Laser manufacturers are violating these concepts frequently and in most instances in which an owner is unable to purchase service or parts, or may otherwise do so at pricing levels higher than original owners.

I will conclude these issues by indicating that there are legitimate times when laser manufacturers refuse service or parts and I acknowledge this. However, there are far too many instances when the state and federal laws are violated without legitimate validation.
I would also like to indicate that many of the policies of laser manufacturers violate the financing agreements by and between the owner and the funding source for the acquisition. This is especially true when the manufacturer arranged for financing.

Finally, there are many state laws that would protect owners of aesthetic medical lasers. It is not possible to discuss all of these