“Is it legal to jailbreak my iPhone?” This is one of the frequently-asked questions and a concern raised by some of the iPhone users. Now, with the announcement from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a nonprofit digital rights group, the answer is clear. Jailbreak and unlocking iPhone is not illegal and do not violate the copyright [...]
“Is it legal to jailbreak my iPhone?”
This is one of the frequently-asked questions and a concern raised by some of the iPhone users. Now, with the announcement from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a nonprofit digital rights group, the answer is clear. Jailbreak and unlocking iPhone is not illegal and do not violate the copyright law, as a result of new rules set by the Copyright Office.
As an iPhone user, you have the right to free your iPhone to work with other carriers and install unauthorized applications outside the Apple’s App Store on iPhone.
Here is the excerpt of the EFF’s announcement:
The first of EFF’s three successful requests clarifies the legality of cell phone “jailbreaking” — software modifications that liberate iPhones and other handsets to run applications from sources other than those approved by the phone maker. More than a million iPhone owners are said to have “jailbroken” their handsets in order to change wireless providers or use applications obtained from sources other than Apple’s own iTunes “App Store,” and many more have expressed a desire to do so. But the threat of DMCA liability had previously endangered these customers and alternate applications stores.
In its reasoning in favor of EFF’s jailbreaking exemption, the Copyright Office rejected Apple’s claim that copyright law prevents people from installing unapproved programs on iPhones: “When one jailbreaks a smartphone in order to make the operating system on that phone interoperable with an independently created application that has not been approved by the maker of the smartphone or the maker of its operating system, the modifications that are made purely for the purpose of such interoperability are fair uses.”
For those who are new to jailbreaking, it is a process to free iPhone from Apple’s closed ecosystem. iPhone hackers have developed free tools such as PwnageTool, Redsn0w and Spirit to jailbreak the iPhone. With a jailbroken iPhone, you are allowed to install iPhone apps which are outside Apple’s App Store. Jailbreaking is also an essential process to unlock the iPhone to work with any mobile carrier.
So, does it mean Apple officially allows iPhone jailbreaking?
Don’t get it wrong. The announcement just makes clear the legality of iPhone jailbreak. That doesn’t mean Apple needs to open up the iPhone OS or supports jailbreaking. Right after the EFF’s announcement, according to CultOfMac, Apple has responded with a press release stating that jailbreak voids the warranty, though it doesn’t violate the law.
Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably.
For all iPhone jailbreakers, the ruling is a big win. You are legally allowed to gain full control of your iPhone. However,, let me take this opportunity to make clear one point. By jailbreaking, it doesn’t mean you are allowed to download pirated applications (via hack like installous) onto the iPhone. That’s illegal and that’s NOT the purpose of jailbreaking. As mentioned in the ruling, all applications should be legally obtained. In other words, other than those free apps, you still have to pay for the paid apps (no matter it is from App Store or Cydia). Let’s reward the hard work of the iPhone developers.
Pen�lope Cruz
Hilary Duff
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