In 1975, Congress enacted the federal Magnuson-Moss Act to regulate written consumer product warranties. The law was meant to give consumers detailed information about warranty coverage before they buy. Congress charged the Federal Trade Commission with creation of the specifics of the law. The FTC set down three rules under the Act: the Disclosure Rule, the Pre-Sale Availability Rule and the Dispute Resolution Rule. Those rules require warrantors to title their written warranty as either "full" or "limited," provide a single, clear and easy-to-read document that spells out certain information about coverage and ensure that warranties are available where the products are sold so that consumers can read them before buying.

In passing the Act, Congress meant to give consumers access to warranty information, let consumers comparison shop for warranties, encourage warranty competition and promote timely and complete performance of warranty obligations. While the Magnuson-Moss Act does not require manufacturers to provide a written warranty, it provides specific rules when one is provided.

Among those provisions, FTC regulations state: "(c) No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade, or corporate name; except that the prohibition of this subsection may be waived by the Commission if - (1) the warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in connection with the warranted product, and (2) the Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest." (42 U.S.C. 2302(C))

Access to the complete Magnuson-Moss Act is available on the Internet by keywords "Magnuson-Moss Act" or "Federal Trade Commission".