By Allen Tsai | Tue Jul 27, 2010 9:07 am |
A federal ruling on Monday said it is legal to alter a phone to install unapproved software, or "jailbreak" a device, loosening Apple's control over its iPhone.
"This is a really important victory for iPhone owners," said Corynne McSherry, a senior staff lawyer with the Electronic Freedom Foundation, the digital-rights organization that fought for the change. "People who want to tinker with their phones and move outside of the Applesphere now have the ability to legally do that."
Apple has said it has the right to reviewed and maintained veto power over software on its devices. In a legal filing last year with the U.S. Copyright Office, a unit of the Library of Congress, the company argued that "jailbreaking" phones infringed on its copyrights since they used modified versions of Apple's software.
"Apple's goal has always been to ensure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone," said Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman. "Jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience, violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably."
The EFF had asked the Library of Congress to authorize jailbreaking in 2008, arguing that the rights of Apple and other handset makers wouldn't be infringed because any changes to the devices are for the personal use.
"More than a million iPhone owners are said to have 'jailbroken' their handsets in order to change wireless providers," the EFF said.
In addition to this decision, the Library of Congress also ruled that it was legal to "unlock" a phone so that it can run on a different carrier's network.
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