Illinois, Minnesota, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin joined the FTC in filing suit against Deere & Company, a manufacturer of large agricultural equipment including tractors and combines.  The Plaintiff States and FTC allege that Deere has restricted the availability of Service ADVISOR, a software tool used to diagnose and repair problems in Deere’s sophisticated equipment, to its authorized dealers.  The complaint alleges that this practice prevents farmers from completing repairs themselves or use independent repair providers, which allowed Deere to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the market for repairs that require a fully functional repair tool in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act, Section 5 of the FTC Act, and state antitrust laws.