130A-309.131. Definitions.

As used in this Part, the following definitions apply:

(1) Business entity. - Defined in G.S. 55-1-40(2a).

(1a) Computer. - An electronic, magnetic, optical, electrochemical, or other high-speed data processing device that has all of the following features:

a. Performs logical, arithmetic, and storage functions for general purpose needs that are met through interaction with a number of software programs contained in the computer.

b. Is not designed to exclusively perform a specific type of limited or specialized application.

c. Achieves human interface through a keyboard, display unit, and mouse or other pointing device.

d. Is designed for a single user.

(2) Computer equipment. - Any computer, monitor or video display unit for a computer system, and the peripheral equipment except keyboards and mice, and a printing device such as a printer, a scanner, a combination print-scanner-fax machine, or other device designed to produce hard paper copies from a computer. Computer equipment does not include an automated typewriter, professional workstation, server, ICI device, ICI system, mobile telephone, portable handheld calculator, portable digital assistant (PDA), MP3 player, or other similar device; an automobile; a television; a household appliance; a large piece of commercial or industrial equipment, such as commercial medical equipment, that contains a cathode ray tube, a cathode ray tube device, a flat panel display, or similar video display device that is contained within, and is not separate from, the larger piece of equipment, or other medical devices as that term is defined under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

(3) Computer equipment manufacturer. - A person that manufactures or has manufactured computer equipment sold under its own brand or label; sells or has sold under its own brand or label computer equipment produced by other suppliers; imports or has imported into the United States computer equipment that was manufactured outside of the United States; or owns or has owned a brand that it licenses or has licensed to another person for use on computer equipment. Computer equipment manufacturer includes a business entity that acquires another business entity that manufactures or has manufactured computer equipment. Computer equipment manufacturer does not include any existing person that does not and has not manufactured computer equipment of the type that would be used by consumers.

(4) Consumer. - Any of the following:

a. An occupant of a single detached dwelling unit or a single unit contained within a multiple dwelling unit who used a covered device primarily for personal or home business use.

b. A nonprofit organization with fewer than 10 employees that used a covered device in its operations.

(5) Covered device. - Computer equipment and televisions used by consumers primarily for personal or home business use. The term does not include a device that is any of the following:

a. Part of a motor vehicle or any component of a motor vehicle assembled by, or for, a vehicle manufacturer or franchised dealer, including replacement parts for use in a motor vehicle.

b. Physically a part of or integrated within a larger piece of equipment designed and intended for use in an industrial, governmental, commercial, research and development, or medical setting.

c. Equipment used for diagnostic, monitoring, or other medical products as that term is defined under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

d. Equipment used for security, sensing, monitoring, antiterrorism purposes, or emergency services purposes.

e. Contained within a household appliance, including, but not limited to, a clothes washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator, refrigerator and freezer, microwave oven, conventional oven or range, dishwasher, room air conditioner, dehumidifier, air purifier, or exercise equipment.

(6) Recodified to subdivision (1a).

(7) Discarded computer equipment. - Computer equipment that is solid waste generated by a consumer.

(8) Discarded computer equipment or television collector. - A municipal or county government, nonprofit agency, recycler, or retailer that knowingly accepts for recycling discarded computer equipment or a television from a consumer.

(9) Discarded television. - A television that is solid waste generated by a consumer.

(9a) Electronic device. - Machinery that is powered by a battery or an electrical cord.

(10) Market share. - A television manufacturer's obligation to recycle discarded televisions. A television manufacturer's market share is the television manufacturer's prior year's sales of televisions as calculated by the Department pursuant to G.S. 130A-309.138(4) divided by all manufacturers' prior year's sales for all televisions as calculated by the Department pursuant to G.S. 130A-309.138(4). Market share may be expressed as a percentage, a fraction, or a decimal fraction.

(11) Repealed by Session Laws 2015-1, s. 2(d), effective March 16, 2015.

(12) Recover. - The process of reusing or recycling covered devices.

(13) Recycle. - The processing, including disassembling, dismantling, and shredding, of covered devices or their components to recover a usable product. Recycle does not include any process that results in the incineration of a covered device.

(14) Recycler. - A person that recycles covered devices.

(15) Retailer. - A person that sells computer equipment or televisions in the State to a consumer. Retailer includes a computer equipment manufacturer or a television manufacturer that sells directly to a consumer through any means, including transactions conducted through sales outlets, catalogs, the Internet, or any similar electronic means, but does not include a person that sells computer equipment or televisions to a distributor or retailer through a wholesale transaction.

(16) Television. - Any electronic device that contains a tuner that locks on to a selected carrier frequency and is capable of receiving and displaying of television or video programming via broadcast, cable, or satellite, including, without limitation, any direct view or projection television with a viewable screen of nine inches or larger whose display technology is based on cathode ray tube (CRT), plasma, liquid crystal display (LCD), digital light processing (DLP), liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS), silicon crystal reflective display (SXRD), light emitting diode (LED), or similar technology marketed and intended for use by a consumer primarily for personal purposes. The term does not include computer equipment.

(17) Television manufacturer. - A person that: (i) manufactures for sale in this State a television under a brand that it licenses or owns; (ii) manufactures for sale in this State a television without affixing a brand; (iii) resells into this State a television under a brand it owns or licenses produced by other suppliers, including retail establishments that sell a television under a brand that the retailer owns or licenses; (iv) imports into the United States or exports from the United States a television for sale in this State; (v) sells at retail a television acquired from an importer that is the manufacturer as described in sub-subdivision (iv) of this subdivision, and the retailer elects to register in lieu of the importer as the manufacturer of those products; (vi) manufactures a television for or supplies a television to any person within a distribution network that includes wholesalers or retailers in this State and that benefits from the sale in this State of the television through the distribution network; or (vii) assumes the responsibilities and obligations of a television manufacturer under this Part. In the event the television manufacturer is one that manufactures, sells, or resells under a brand it licenses, the licensor or brand owner of the brand shall not be considered to be a television manufacturer under (i) or (iii) of this subdivision.