1. They're not properly licensed for other markets. Something equivalent to selling a radio transmitter in the US that's not registered with the FCC.

2. They price units outside of Asian markets much higher and don't want to allow/encourage arbitrage that they don't control.

This is definitely a case of "porqué no los dos" (or more).

> The contracts we sign with all dealers clearly stipulate that products that are not UL certified and listed by local power grid companies may not be sold or used in the United States, because the products do not meet US UL standards. If used in violation of this policy, the devices may pose significant-safety risks. To address this, Deye has built a verification mechanism into the devices. The pop-up alert is automatically triggered by the device’s authorization verification mechanism, rather than by any human intervention.

But there's plenty of ways to use solar inverters where neither of those factors applies.

And furthermore, you can buy tons of non-UL-certified junk at Harbor Freight and plug it in yourself. It's not like there's a magic forcefield at the border that these Deye units somehow slipped through. Using that as an explanation for disabling their hardware is so insubstantial as to be just this side of an outright lie.

And I'm astonished that the linked article isn't calling them out on it.

When the local building code requires that grid-connected devices are UL listed, then it becomes a legal requirement. I suspect this is probably the case in most jurisdictions across the US.

edit: NEC section 110.2 indicates all equipment must be "approved" and delegates this to the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) locally; and the majority of them are going to defer to a "NRTL" (Nominally Recognized Testing Laboratory, such as UL, CSA, ETL, etc) instead of doing all the expensive and tedious testing themselves. So when it comes to grid connections, some sort of approval is nearly always a de facto legal requirement.

Genuine question. Which of these options do we prefer? (Choose any number)

1. Deye proactively bricks all the devices

2. US governments compel Deye to brick the devices

3. Local authorities penalize people using the devices illegally

4. No one does anything

If something actually burns down, authorities will circulate a bulletin and move to #3.

Anyone using the hardware in an off-grid, mobile, or other situation where the cited regulations don't apply, should sue the crap out of #1 and I will contribute to a gofundme for their legal battering ram.

Now, people are without power and they have to go to Sol-Ark to get power restored, likely by paying through the nose.

Why should the manufacturer be concerned you tried to skirt the region restrictions they were very upfront exist?

Your question is really no different than asking why it's not legal for me photocopy books and ignore copyright.

Now, you can argue that country-specific licenses shouldn't be allowed; but they currently are.

If Sol-Ark is adding value and competitive differentiation, wouldn't that justify the price premium over the basic Deye product? Especially if Deye is not willing to offer its own support/warranty to customers?

Why does Sol-Ark need to create a more monopolistic landscape? Not being judgemental, genuinely curious. (Well, I know why Sol-Ark wants it. I guess the question is why we allow it).

Contempt of business model is legal, and vigilantism is not.

I think Daye broke US law when they destroyed law-fully purchased products inside USA. I hope the inverter owners bring a class-action lawsuit against Daye in the US. The court could block the sale of the company's products in USA until they restore the inverters and pay restitution.

> U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Books Printed and Sold Abroad May Be Freely Resold in the U.S. Because the Copyrights Are Exhausted Under the First-Sale Doctrine

In any case, it’s perfectly legal for me to make and sell a geo-locked device in another country, and it is the importer’s problem if fails to work elsewhere. That doesn’t tend to happen with physical books, obviously.

It sounds like Sol-Ark would have preferred that Deye not sold the products, and may even be able to sue Deye, but nobody illegally acquired anything.

But that’s an issue between the manufacturer and the distributors which can then sue each other for breach of contract, right? The “authorized reseller” thing shouldn’t matter to the end consumer, as soon as I have the product, it’s as legitimate as every other purchase.

Let's say a guy in China buys the product from Deye, who stipulates under Chinese law that this is only for use in China and not authorized for export. The guy sells it on to you in the US anyway (so let's call him a "scammer" for violating law and misrepresenting the product to you, and innocent consumer looking for a good deal).

Why should Deye respect your rights at all and not brick the device? What rights should you have under Chinese law? If they don't brick the device, how can they disincentivize the scammers at scale? Sure you can say they should prosecute and rely on the deterrent aspect of the penal system, but that is not really going to be effective.

Basically it boils down to what rights the victims of scammers and criminals have. If you unknowingly bought stolen diamonds, what rights do you have when the original owner comes knocking?