Lifetime limited warranty

The lifetime limited warranty is a manufacturer's guarantee that a product will be replaced at no charge if found defective. Companies are required by law to distribute lifetime limited warranties with their products; although, many companies attempt to dodge the distribution of warranties through a process now known as "Warranty Evasion," which is one of the few criminal acts that can be punished with the death penalty.

Evolution

Lifetime limited warranties have been legally mandated by the United States federal government ever since Thomas Edison first turned the lights on at Independence Hall and discovered that the Liberty Bell had a crack in it. The evolution of the lifetime limited warranty has further been shaped by the following Congressional acts and Supreme Court cases:

The beginning of warranty legislation. The government started passing mandatory warranty laws after all attempts at obtaining a refund for the Liberty Bell had failed.

Legislation

• Broken Stamp Act of 1917
• Broken Gavel Act of 1923
• Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Act of 1954
• Broken Heart Act of 1971
• Broken Limb Act of 1988

Supreme Court Cases

• Smith v. Microsoft
• Samuels v. Microsoft
• Bradley v. Microsoft
• Foster v. Microsoft
• Macintosh v. Microsoft
• Sony v. Microsoft
• Dell v. Microsoft
• Microsoft v. Dell

Limits

Many debates have been held regarding the true meaning of the lifetime limited warranty. Legally, the federal government has defined the lifetime limited warranty as guaranteed for the life of the owner as long as certain broad conditions are met. Following is a list of these conditions:

• Item must not be forced open.
• Item must not be touched.
• Item must not be thrown out of a window.
• Item must not be covered in dust.
• Item must not require some assembly.
• Item must not include batteries.
• Item must not have been purchased within thirty miles of owner's home.

Lifetime

In addition to the limits of the warranty, the meaning of "lifetime" has also been under investigation. Professors, scholars, and construction workers have surmised that "lifetime" can be best defined as a consistent period of excellent health, meaning that an owner's warranty lifetime will have come to an end if the owner is dead, has malaria, has a headache, has a nosebleed, has a sniffle, or otherwise experiences physical complications that impedes 110% performance of the human body.

How To Claim Your Warranty

Should you find yourself in a position to return a defective product that legally falls under the guidelines of the lifetime limited warranty, you must send a number of items to the manufacturer of the defective item in order to claim your warranty:

• The defective item
• A receipt of purchase