[Meternx01 Posted Jul 26th 2010 11:38AM]

You know the handset makers will still void warranties if you root/jailbreak your handset..

And who gave the LoC authority to do this..Would that hold up in court?

[EpsilonNot Posted Jul 26th 2010 11:45AM]

@Meternx01
I believe the DMCA itself gives the LoC this authority- someone can correct me if I'm wrong though.

[karl123 Posted Jul 26th 2010 11:53AM]

@EpsilonNot You are correct.

[The Shadow Posted Jul 26th 2010 11:55AM]

@Meternx01 The LoC is supposed to do this, so its legal. That won't stop the frivilous lawsuits, though!

[rstoplabe14 Posted Jul 26th 2010 11:58AM]

@Meternx01
They should make a law against them being able to void warranties because of it, also, they should make a law that enables us to easily unclock ANY (including the iPhone) device to be unlocked once the contract expires (to make it fair).

[TSSaloic Posted Jul 26th 2010 12:00PM]

@Meternx01 On the warranty... So?

[dingus Posted Jul 26th 2010 12:04PM]

@EpsilonNot It sounds like the provisions look like these are legal:

1) decrypting DVDs (DeCSS) for fair use, not necessarily for backup

2) hacking phones to run non copyright infringing apps, i.e. jailbreak as long as you're not using it to run cracked pay apps

3) unlocking phones to use on any network

4) breaking PC game copy protection only for security testing only

5) unlocking software protected by a dongle that's no longer being supported

6) decrypting ebooks that don't work on devices that have features to aid the blind or deaf

Nothing is said about warranties or manufacturers making it easy or intentionally leaving in backdoors a la the Nexus One. Apple can still continue in the devteam arms race, Moto can still build in efuses, and HTC can deny your warranty for unlocked bootloaders. But now nobody can sue you or request a DMCA takedown for breaking any of these protections.

[bonesb Posted Jul 26th 2010 12:37PM]

@Meternx01
Doesn’t really matter anyway, the handset makers are protected by their own EULA agreements. You want an iPhone or DROID X or any other smartphone or sign a contract - you end up agreeing to an EULA one way or another. The LoC language doesn’t affect or change the EULA.

[jmactacular Posted Jul 26th 2010 1:19PM]

@EpsilonNot Are you guys sure? I didn't see anything about the LoC's authority on the DMCA on wikipedia. I thought only Congress could amend its laws.

[dingus Posted Jul 26th 2010 1:20PM]

@bonesb Yes it does. If Apple's EULA says that you can't modify the firmware on the phone, and they sue you because you jailbroke your phone, this gets you off the hook. I can write a EULA requiring you to never badmouth my software in public, but if I tried to sue you for breaching it you'd be able to beat me over the head with the 1st amendment.

[sticlmo Posted Jul 26th 2010 4:44PM]

@Epsilon Not

[sticlmo Posted Jul 26th 2010 4:49PM]

@ Does this mean I can now ask AT&T to unlock my iPhone 4 without any hassles?

[maxxorz Posted Jul 26th 2010 5:39PM]

@sticlmo
No. It just means it's not illegal for other people to do it. It doesn't mean AT&T or Apple *has* to.