Apple Calls Jailbreaking iPhones a Crime
3:49 pm, February 13th, 2009, Lonnie Lazar
Apple has filed a response to an Electronic Frontier Foundation request that the US Copyright Office exempt from the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch which violate certain term of Apple’s SDK, describing the very act of “jailbreaking” an iPhone a crime.
The EFF wants the Copyright Office to officially exempt “computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the telephone handset.”
The non-profit consumer advocacy organization believes Apple’s efforts to control the software that runs on iPhone is “corporate paternalism” and described them as comparable to an automaker welding shut the hood of its cars to only allow servicing to be done by authorized dealers.
Apple’s extensive response to EFF’s request (available as a PDF) cites, among other things, danger to the device from unauthorized software and increased support costs that result from problems caused by jailbreaking the phone, and asserts that jailbreaking fails all four “nonexclusive statutory fair use factors prescribed in § 107 of the copyright statute,” essentially calling jailbreaking a crime.
The Copyright Office is not expected to rule on EFF’s request until October.
If you’re interested in a detailed rehash of the legal brickbats flying between Apple and EFF over the matter, AppleInsider has a very good discussion of the arguments raised by both sides.
Posted by Lonnie Lazar in Apple, News | Comment on this article
If jailbreaking an iPhone constitutes a criminal act as defined by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act then how long is it going to be before we have a version of OS X which will only be permitted to run applications purchased through Apple? If that is where we are going then I guess I am going to be running Linux at some point.
Also, as for the additional support costs that is the largest stinking pile of dung that Apple could put forth. Try taking a jailbroken iPhone to a genius bar sometime. I did for a hardware question and was informed quickly and rather curtly that they would NOT touch a jailbroken phone and that if I wanted help I would have to restore the phone to factory software and make another appointment.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act is really starting to prove itself another piece of excrement in the continuous stream of excrement coming out of Washington. But I guess the corporations got what they paid their politicians for. Too bad the rest of us little people will be crushed in the process.
Shawen, on February 13th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
[...] (via Apple Calls Jailbreaking iPhones a Crime | Cult of Mac.) [...]
Apple Calls Jailbreaking iPhones a Crime | Cult of Mac | Technovia, on February 13th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Isn’t it obvious? Apple is merely protecting the monopoly on software sales that it conveniently set up for itself in the formation of the App Store. Strange how we can develop anything we want for the Mac, but not the iPhone, where all revenue roads lead to the App Store (and Apple’s hefty commission split). This may work for iTunes when dealing with artists who can’t program, but not software developers who know how to workaround pretty much anything. I believe Apple has overstepped its bounds on this issue.
Lexi @ufook
Lexi, on February 13th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
This is ridiculous. Love my iMac, love my iPhone, haven’t run any illegal (or potentially illegal) software on either… But I won’t stand for this sort of thing.
People doing this are already likely to void their warranty and so on, they already risk damage to their handset if something goes wrong. Calling it criminal is totally ridiculous…
Apple’s control over everything is part of what makes their software strong and enables it to work well together, but it MUST have it’s limit. I think the comment about ‘welding a car’s hood shut’ just perfectly sums it up. Some people want to do these things and… Leave them alone Apple.
Duality, on February 13th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
they do as they please… we do the same.
24smart, on February 13th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Unfortunately under the DMCA Apple is probably 100% correct. It is illegal to circumvent copy protection even if your ultimate goal is legal. Sad but true.
Sinister Joe, on February 13th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
i would not expect apple to support a jailbroken iphone regardless of any question of legality, anymore than i would expect any oem to do the same. i have nothing against jailbreaking. i’ve done it to my iphone in the past. however, you should expect to be on your own if you do it, same as with any other mod. try calling a pc oem for support (hardware or otherwise) that you’ve put linux on that didn’t come that way out of the factory. they’re going to tell you to use your restore disk and put windows back on it and then call them back, and also remove any hardware that you’ve changed/added from the original config.
firesign, on February 17th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
[...] course Apple thinks of these users as criminals, but, really, how long can the company deny the rest of its smartphone ecosystem the number three [...]
iPhone Cut and Paste is Here, Is It? | Cult of Mac, on February 23rd, 2009 at 1:10 pm