Its about DRM and the anti-circumvention section in the DMCA part of US copyright. Owners, like those who have bought a car, a computer, a mobile phone, a espresso machine (and so on) want to be able to repair their property without being labeled a criminal for it. The problem is, the car won't start if it detects an unauthorized part that is made by a third-party, and some server manufacturer has started to use DRM so that owners can't just buy replacement hard drives from third-party onces a drive fails, but is instead forced to buy it from dell.

Its a basic scheme by the seller to restrict use of third-party parts in order to create a monopoly, increase price and guarantee future revenue after product has been sold. In the extreme end they can even tap into the aftermarket, demanding a cut each time the car or what ever is resold. Most of this is enabled because of current copyright law, through consumer protection laws are also lagging behind current technology.