http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/ Engadget Comments for Know Your Rights: Is it illegal to unlock my iPhone? http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2010 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 6:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 8:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 25th 2007 12:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
Geohot, pack your stuff and move to Europe! Go dude! before too late.]]>Aug 25th 2007 2:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/But what about unlocking it to use it in foreign country? :P]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
Quick sites for you:
www.lawcom.gov.uk/ - UK Law Commision
www.iuscomp.org/gla/ - German law archive (English)
www.loc.gov/law/guide/spain.html - Guide to law online: Spain (English)
www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=__+law&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
(replace "__" with your country)

Hope that helps!]]>Aug 25th 2007 2:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 7:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 7:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 7:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 7:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
While we certainly won't know till some one tries, I imagine that:

A) they won't look long enough to notice anything's different if you do decide to risk it.

B) it can't be too hard to do (firmware over-ride & all).]]>Aug 24th 2007 8:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 7:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjxY9rZwNGU]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 7:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 9:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
So unless the end user is a hacking ninja, the unlocking of each iPhone will most likely cause at least 1 party in legal trouble.]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 7:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
It is not illegal to sell information/materials on how to unlock your cell phone.

It is not illegal to unlock your cell phone as long you intend to be the one using it for lawfully connecting to a network (lawfully = paying for the service according to carrier requirements).

It (probably) is illegal to buy a phone, unlock it, and sell it as unlocked with the intent of making a profit and with no intent of using it for personal use.



]]>Aug 25th 2007 7:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
Want a replacement, but you illegally unlocked your phone? No replacement for you!]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 8:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 25th 2007 12:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
Reality check: third-party iPhone batteries have already been announced. It appears to be hard but something that most DIYers could handle, and there will surely be plenty of non-Apple shops happy to do the work for cheap.

Anyway, the iPhone has been on sale for two months. NOBODY has yet worn out their first battery unless it was defective from the start. It should be a couple of years or more before average users need a new battery and by then they'll be out of contract with ATT and probably just want to buy a whole new phone instead of worrying about the battery.

So quit worrying about the battery and go play in traffic or something that might actually be cause for concern.

If you can't let go of fear of something bad happening with warranty service, then you shouldn't be hacking around with your iPhone. Hacking is not for people who keep receipts and boxes and the packaging material and leave those factory installed plastic antiscratch protectors on everything. ]]>Aug 25th 2007 5:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
It is completely legal to Unlock a Phone to use it for Wireless communication purposes.
Remember, most unlocks are done simply by punching in an unlock code for your phone.

Having said that,
It is illegal to unlock a phone using
- hardware modifications
- software mods using an external source, i.e. computers
- firmware hacks on the phone itself

So there you go. With the current ways to unlock an iPhone, sadly it is illegal and you could get into trouble for it, especially if you plan to make money off it.
-g-
]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.copyright.gov/1201/]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 25th 2007 1:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
The interpretation of the copyright office decision has to be wrong. Saying it's legal to unlock a phone -but you can't use any tools to do it, is like saying it's legal to open a padlock you own but you can't use the key or any tools or even touch it. Apparently you are expected to open it with mind powers? Wishful thinking?

This is unreasonable and would never stand up in court.

BTW, as noted in the original post, the copyright office decision is up for review again in 2009. What was not mentioned above is that the cell carriers have been raising holy hell (also known as lobbyists) since the decision came down to either repeal it or make damn sure it doesn't get renewed. So that's WHY 2009 is a concern. Verizon and the others are going to pay a lot of congressmen a lot of money in 2008 to make sure some laws get passed in their favor.
]]>Aug 25th 2007 5:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Lawyers : We'll make it appear iLLegal
]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 7:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 7:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 7:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 10:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 10:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
]]>Aug 25th 2007 1:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
That's not true. Japan and either Korea or Vietnam don't use GSM, they use CDMA. :-P]]>Aug 27th 2007 12:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 28th 2007 9:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
yes... there is fan of Engadget in saudi arabia :)]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/And nothing bad, just that they got a lot of money and would probably pay a lot to use the iPhone anywhere else than in the US...
The thing is, they probably don't care paying the AT&T fees :P]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
But then it was just a joke.]]>Aug 25th 2007 3:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
right now i see at&t and apple lobbyists making deals over the bodies of dead hookers getting new laws created that will get a iphone unlocker.... how do i get this math right...... carry the 2.... adjust for solar winds...... ah, about 2000% times the sentence of lindsay lohan and nichole richie combined. [:]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 7:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
Yes, I like that one.]]>Aug 24th 2007 10:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/23/copyright-office-rules-that-consumers-can-legally-unlock-cellpho/

I thought it was legal.]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/It's LEGAL to unlock.
It's ILLEGAL to unlock and sell for profit.

]]>Aug 25th 2007 5:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.copyright.gov/1201/
and the exemption recommendation: http://www.copyright.gov/1201/docs/1201_recommendation.pdf

Of interest is this:
5. Computer programs in the form of firmware that enable wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telephone communication network, when circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network.
Note that it says _firmware_ -- programs that run on a PC to download said firmware (and any other non-firmware access device) would be illegal. At least, that's my interpretation until it's challenged.]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
(I'm assuming here that Engadget have run this past the AOL TimeWarner legal team)]]>Aug 24th 2007 8:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 9:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
I do not see that at all. You will need to provide a proper citation here.]]>Aug 25th 2007 6:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 27th 2007 7:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/AT&T will of course hear about this and instantly think, "we better stop this! People will switch carriers"!
When they should be thinking, "uhhh maybe we should look at improving our crappy network, overpriced plans and poor customer service"....

By the way, I have an iPhone and LOVE it.
]]>Aug 24th 2007 7:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/Aug 24th 2007 8:17PM