[opendtv] Apple's control slips after US green lights 'jailbreaking'
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:55:02 -0500
Good deal for consumers. Vox populi est vox dei.
Bert
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http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2010/07/27/apples-control-slips-us-green-lights-jailbreaking.htm
Apple's control slips after US green lights 'jailbreaking'
Hacking phone to instal unauthorized apps is not illegal, though may still void
warranty
By CAROLINE GABRIEL
Published: 27 July, 2010
Apple suffered another blow to its iron control of its mobile platform, with a
US federal ruling that 'jailbreaking' phones is not illegal. The decision came
from the US Copyright Office and Library of Congress and quashed Apple's bid to
criminalize the hacking of iPhones to install unauthorized apps.
The decision on Monday added jailbreaking to a list of practises that do not
violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the US. Modifications to
the operating system purely to allow it to support an unauthorized but legal
application are "fair uses", wrote Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights, in
the ruling.
"Apple's objections to the installation and use of unapproved applications
appears to have nothing to do with its interests as the owner of copyrights in
the computer programs embodied in the iPhone, and running the unapproved
applications has no adverse effect on those interests," the ruling continued.
"Rather, Apple's objections relate to its interests as a manufacturer and
distributor of a device, the iPhone." Peters went on to refer to jailbreaking
as "innocuous at worst and beneficial at best".
Apple submitted its case to the Copyright Office in February 2009 after the
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked for a DMCA exemption in 2008 for
cellphone jailbreaking. The EFF, backed mainly by open source players like
Mozilla, had asked the Office to allow users to instal apps that were not
available through Apple's own App Store, without fear of penalty.
The issue is a critical one for vendors and operators, since they see control
of their stores - and associated revenue streams - as important to their mobile
web business models. Even more importantly, they aim to differentiate
themselves by creating a carefully managed user experience, even if this
sometimes angers users - as with Apple's exclusion of Adobe Flash. The issue is
not iPhone specific - AT&T, for instance, attracted fierce criticism for
preventing users of its Android phones, such as Motorola Backflip, from
downloading apps from other sources than the official Android Market. However,
since the Market does not have a rigid approval process like Apple's or RIM's,
the impact on the Android sector will be less.
The EFF commented in a statement: "Copyright law has long held that making
programs interoperable is fair use. It's gratifying that the Copyright Office
acknowledges this right and agrees that the anticircumvention laws should not
interfere with interoperability."
While jailbreaking and SIM unlocking are now effectively legal in the US, the
procedures may still void the warranty of the user's iPhone or iPad. It is
estimated that about 10m IoS devices in current use have been jailbroken. Some
analysts believe the ruling will encourage 'underground' app stores like Cydia
to come in from the cold, and ZDnet's Jason Perlow even speculates that Adobe
could get Flash onto the iPhone at last by providing its own jailbreaker to
install Flash libraries and other apps.
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