Cellphone software unlocked
p2pnet.net News:- Under new copyright rules, US cell phone owners will be able to break software locks so they can use their mobiles with competing carriers.
“Other copyright exemptions approved by the Library of Congress will let film professors copy snippets from DVDs for educational compilations and let blind people use special software to read copy-protected electronic books,” says Business Week.
Canada needs this too, and badly, says Digital Journal, going on:
“All in all, the changes to the U.S. law include six exemptions – the most the Copyright Office has ever granted. James Billington, who works with the Library of Congress, says this is the first time his office has exempted groups of users, because previous rules were umbrella laws that included everyone without exception.”
Business Week has the EFF’s (Electronic Frontier Foundation) Fred von Lohmann saying, “I am very encouraged by the fact that the Copyright Office is willing to recognize exemptions for archivists, cell phone recyclers and computer security experts. Frankly I’m surprised and pleased they were granted.”
But von Lohmann was disappointed the Copyright Office rejected a number of exemptions that could have benefited consumers, including one that would have let owners of DVDs legally copy movies for use on portable players, says the story.
The new rules will take effect Monday and expire in three years, it adds.
Also See:
Business Week – Cell phone reuse among new rights issued, November 22, 2006
Digital Journal – New Copyright Laws Allow Users to Unlock Phones and Copy Movie Snippets, November 22, 2006
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November 26th, 2006 at 2:36 am
“cell phone owners will be able to break software locks so they can use their mobiles with competing carriers.”
Also, who says the locks must be easy enough to break so the phone owner can break the lock?
Who says that cell phone owners will have the technical capacity to brak the lock?
And who says that a competing carrier who gives “free phones” with new accounts, will sell accounts at a discount if the customer brings in his or her cell phone?
And why not prohibit locks in the first place?
Rafael Venegas
http://www.gvenegas.com
November 27th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
Well, in answer to your first question, apparantly it’s Business Week who says cell phone owners will break software locks, as stated in the article.