The entire idea of DRM took a bit of a thrashing early in 2010. Courts said that end user rights trump those of the companies that hold copyrights.
It is now legal to jailbreak iPhones.
Jailbreaking your iPhone (hacking it to "free" it from the shackles of Apple's strict app management policy) has been controversial for a while, with Apple and the user community playing a game of cat and dog with new versions of the iPhone's OS, and new jailbreak exploits popping up.
At certain points, it's even been threatened that the act of jailbreaking one's iPhone is a legal offense -- it contravenes a 1998 federal law designed to protect device manufacturers and prevent users from bypassing lock-downs on devices which are placed there to prevent unauthorized use.
These new exemptions that were put in place pretty much legalize any type of jailbreaking of iPhones or any mobile or electronic devices. The exemptions call the breaking of DRM without financial gain "fair use" - for activities such as letting the person who has paid for the phone to have more control over what software they install on their own mobile phone. It's a huge win for hackers, end users, and privacy advocates who've been litigating for this type of net-neutrality for several years now.
It doesn't look like Apple is going to litigate this any further. They've been, instead, spending their legal dollars on adjusting their EULA to be ironclad in it's point that users who choose to jailbreak lose their warrantly instantly and that Apple will not be responsible for any damages from that point forward.
A few other exemptions that were spelled out will upset not only Apple, but ATT as well. The ruling specifically states that it's considered "fair use" to hack DRM for the purpose of using a phone on a carrier other than what is intended by the manufacturer. This will have much bigger implications for the United States than for Europe, where jailbroken cell phones are already the norm.
Above all, this new ruling will stick in the craw of the computer/electronics/media industry as a whole. These industries have come, over the past decade, to see DRM as a cure-all when it comes to protecting their interests - even when it's at the expense of the interests of consumers.
It's actually a bit surprising that these rules were passed, when you consider the amount of power the media industry has inside the Washington beltway.
It is now legal to jailbreak iPhones.
Jailbreaking your iPhone (hacking it to "free" it from the shackles of Apple's strict app management policy) has been controversial for a while, with Apple and the user community playing a game of cat and dog with new versions of the iPhone's OS, and new jailbreak exploits popping up.
At certain points, it's even been threatened that the act of jailbreaking one's iPhone is a legal offense -- it contravenes a 1998 federal law designed to protect device manufacturers and prevent users from bypassing lock-downs on devices which are placed there to prevent unauthorized use.
These new exemptions that were put in place pretty much legalize any type of jailbreaking of iPhones or any mobile or electronic devices. The exemptions call the breaking of DRM without financial gain "fair use" - for activities such as letting the person who has paid for the phone to have more control over what software they install on their own mobile phone. It's a huge win for hackers, end users, and privacy advocates who've been litigating for this type of net-neutrality for several years now.
It doesn't look like Apple is going to litigate this any further. They've been, instead, spending their legal dollars on adjusting their EULA to be ironclad in it's point that users who choose to jailbreak lose their warrantly instantly and that Apple will not be responsible for any damages from that point forward.
A few other exemptions that were spelled out will upset not only Apple, but ATT as well. The ruling specifically states that it's considered "fair use" to hack DRM for the purpose of using a phone on a carrier other than what is intended by the manufacturer. This will have much bigger implications for the United States than for Europe, where jailbroken cell phones are already the norm.
Above all, this new ruling will stick in the craw of the computer/electronics/media industry as a whole. These industries have come, over the past decade, to see DRM as a cure-all when it comes to protecting their interests - even when it's at the expense of the interests of consumers.
It's actually a bit surprising that these rules were passed, when you consider the amount of power the media industry has inside the Washington beltway.
About the Author:
Want to find out more about jailbreak software, then visit Keaghan Francouer's site on how to choose the best jailbreak software for your needs.
0 comments:
Post a Comment