US Copyright Office Deems Unlocking of Devices Legal
The United States Copyright Office has granted an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 (DMCA) that purports to legalise what has become known as "jailbreaking". According to reports, users can now legally modify their phones to switch networks and run applications not sanctioned by the device manufacturer. Under previous rules, users could be penalised on two grounds for this activity - both for violating the DMCA and breaching the contract in the form of the Licence Agreement between the user and device manufacturer. However, as a result of the ruling on 27 July 2010, device manufacturers can only accuse users of breaching their Licence Agreement.
Users should be aware that any modification of a device's software may render the device manufacturer's warranty void - in this regard, the device manufacturer is under no obligation to enable jailbreaking on the device and jailbreaking can lead to an unusable or "bricked" device.
The ruling of the US Copyright Office can be found at: www.copyright.gov/1201/
