Apple has publicly saying that “jailbreaking” (and seems it’s involving “unlocking” as well) an iPhone is breaking the law and voiding the warranty. What?!
Arik Hesseldahl of Business Week wrote:
The statement was Apple’s first official comment on the practice of jailbreaking, which first emerged within days of the iPhone’s initial release in mid 2007. It came in response an effort by the Electronic Frontier Foundation to make the procedure exempt from prosecution under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. The EFF had argued that jailbreaking the iPhone should be protected under the principal of fair use. “There is no copyright-related rationale for preventing iPhone owners from decrypting and modifying the device’s firmware in order to enable their phones to interoperate with applications lawfully obtained from a source of their own choosing,” the EFF’s Fed von Lohman and Jennifer Granick wrote in their filing with the Copyright Office.
Apple argued otherwise in a response filing opposing any exemption. Jailbreaking an iPhone, it argues, destroys “the technological protection of Apple’s key copyrighted computer programs in the iPhone device itself and copyrighted content owned by Apple that plays on the iPhone resulting in copyright infringement, potential damage to the device and other potential harmful physical effects.” It also constitutes a breach of contract, Apple attorney David Hayes of Fenwick and West wrote.
If Apple really does decide to crack down on the jailbreaking developers and their works, it would be really weird. The idea of jailbreaking comes out due to some iPhone’s limitation, meaning that it’s a part of the creativity, innovation…
So what do you think?
[via CNET]
hey, unlock the #%@*&%! phone so that we could use it with the service provider of our choice.u guys don’t need AT&T. you need us, the consumer.
The irony here is that they’re even going after jailbreaking without unlocking. If they allowed a robust, unfettered app market to flourish without all the top-down policing — which has still allowed tons of crappy apps through — they wouldn’t need to worry about people circumventing the limitations.
At any rate, I bought the phone for real cash, including a two-year commitment to AT&T. I didn’t get it for free, and I’ll do with it what I please. Apple can kiss my fat ass.
The jailbreak software isn’t all that interesting these days to be honest. I theme, use copy and paste, and video recording but that’s about it. Considering many things I jailbroke my phone for are in the store now and most worthwhile jailbreak apps are pay products who cares? Eventually What I use now will end up on the phone and jailbreaking will be a lot less interesting. Fact is, I am tired of jailbreaking, it’s a pain in the ass. Apple is still being a ass tho, but what corp. isn’t?