The Electronic Frontier Foundation claimed a victory with the Library of Congress DMCA, making it okay for owners to jail-break and unlock locked phones.
In its reasoning in favor of EFF's jailbreaking exemption, the
Copyright Office rejected Apple's claim that copyright law prevents
people from installing unapproved programs on iPhones: "When one
jailbreaks a smartphone in order to make the operating system on that
phone interoperable with an independently created application that has
not been approved by the maker of the smartphone or the maker of its
operating system, the modifications that are made purely for the purpose
of such interoperability are fair uses."
On EFF's request, the Librarian of Congress renewed a 2006 rule
exempting cell phone unlocking so handsets can be used with other
telecommunications carriers. Cell phone unlockers have been successfully
sued under the DMCA, even though there is no copyright infringement
involved in the unlocking. Digital locks on cell phones make it harder
to resell, reuse, or recycle the handset, prompting EFF to ask for
renewal of this rule on behalf of our clients, The Wireless Alliance,
ReCellular and Flipswap. However, the 2009 rule has been modified so
that it only applies to used mobile phones, not new ones.
"The Copyright Office recognizes that the primary purpose of the
locks on cell phones is to bind customers to their existing networks,
rather than to protect copyrights," said Granick. "The Copyright Office
agrees with EFF that the DMCA shouldn't be used as a barrier to prevent
people who purchase phones from keeping those phones when they change
carriers. The DMCA also shouldn't be used to interfere with recyclers
who want to extend the useful life of a handset."
Along with the exemptions that EFF championed, several other DMCA
exemptions were expanded, granted or narrowed including one for
documentary filmmakers and college-level educators, as well as some for
security researchers.
More than a million iPhone owners are said to have "jailbroken" their
handsets in order to change wireless providers or use applications
obtained from sources other than Apple's own iTunes "App Store," and
many more have expressed a desire to do so. But the threat of DMCA
liability had previously endangered these customers and alternate
applications stores.
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