Schematics

Schematics are a business all by themselves...
And NO , I do not think the company is required to even provide them for sale.
I am certain a lot of small companies just do not create them. The big ones used too.. but who knows anymore?
A few companies offer them for free in detail on line.
So it is all over the place.
Used to be SAMS photofacts offered all of them for a price.. but even SAMS is falling apart.
But you want a TV schematic for a 1953 Philco... go to SAMS... A 1972 Realistic eight track.. SAMS...

Congress hasn't gotten around to requiring that yet, as far as I know.

No. It's the manufacturer's intellectual property.

I was asking because a friend claimed that he was accustomed to getting a schematic in his time, he is much older than most of us.
I understand that it is a matter of protecting ones intellectual property, but most electronic equipment can be reversed engineered, so those that want badly to illegally copy will manage to find a way, and the hobbyist who doesn't have the resources will be stuck.

I would think the proper course would be to provide them when the unit goes out of production. When I was a Meridian dealer I could not get a schematic for the 605 amps I was using but I recently requested and received one as they are no longer in production. I have not been a dealer for years. Some companied just want to corner the repair market on their products; I have this problem myself with a couple of units; I am quite willing to pay for the schematics of the products, which are discontinued. If they won't provide them I have a technician friend who can repair them anyway, it will just take longer.