Library of Congress passes eased copyright rules

[agamemnus]

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news...tal.Copyright/

WASHINGTON — Owners of the iPhone will be able to legally break electronic locks on their devices in order to download software applications that haven't been approved by Apple Inc., according to new government rules announced Monday.

The decision to allow the practice commonly known as "jailbreaking" is one of a handful of new exemptions from a 1998 federal law that prohibits people from bypassing technical measures that companies put on their products to prevent unauthorized uses [that's the DMCA, folks]. The Library of Congress, which oversees the Copyright Office, reviews and authorizes exemptions every three years to ensure that the law does not prevent certain non-infringing use of copyright-protected material.


In addition to jailbreaking, other exemptions announced Monday would:
_ allow owners of used cell phones to break access controls on their phones in order to switch wireless carriers.

_ allow people to break technical protections on video games to investigate or correct security flaws.

_ allow college professors, film students and documentary filmmakers to break copy-protection measures on DVDs so they can embed clips for educational purposes, criticism, commentary and noncommercial videos.

_ allow computer owners to bypass the need for external security devices called dongles if the dongle no longer works and cannot be replaced.

Here's a link to the Library of Congress news statement:
http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2010/10-169.html

Good deal, good deal. You'd think this was all already theoretically legal, though...

It's still a bit muddled, such as (4)... say someone breaks copyright protection in order to "correct security flaws" (ie: DRM that breaks or hinders your PC!) in order to "primarily to promote the security of the owner or operator of a computer" without by default "facilitat(ing) copyright infringement"?

[Ominous Gamer]

you're forcing black text, and this is already in the happy thread.

[agamemnus]

Sorry, I can't figure out how to make it so I can see the bbcode... :\

What happy thread?

Edit: Oh, but that's not officially D&D!

[LittleFuzzy]

Aga, you mean none of that font, color, etc code I see when I quote your OP shows up when you edit the post? Weird.

edit: Oh, I see. For the main body that's inherent in the information imported via the link tag. The color and font stuff was for that extra line which appeared outside the faux quote box.

OG, whether something gets mentioned in one of the GC mega-threads is not any sort of criteria for saying it should not be posted elsewhere.

[agamemnus]

LittleFuzzy, I was using the "Full WYSIWYG Editing" mode, which had more features than the standard editor (I remember something in the standard editor was missing, which is why I switched).. the WYSIWYG mode doesn't give you an option to see all the bbcode.. I think I fixed it now.

[']['ear]

OG, whether something gets mentioned in one of the GC mega-threads is not any sort of criteria for saying it should not be posted elsewhere.

Amen!

[Wraith]

Sorry, I can't figure out how to make it so I can see the bbcode... :\

There's an A/A button on the top right of the edit box that switches between WYSIWYG and bbcode formatting.

[Dreadnaught]

I really hope this gets us in the direction of unlocked phones. Even though GSM is only used by two major wireless networks in the US, I think there are some major consumer benefits to being able to de-couple the process of purchasing a phone from purchasing a cellphone plan (while opting to have the plan subsidize the phone purchase).

[wiggin]

I think more options to have plans that don't subsidize the phone purchase would be even better. I replace my phone with the cheapest durable phone on the market that has basic functions (text, talk, bluetooth). If I could just buy the phone with cash and have a cheaper plan, I could probably save hundreds of dollars a year, not to mention having portability between operators if I decide I don't like one (no 2-year commitment). There are very few options available in the US to do this with a decent operator.

Furthermore, I have a family plan and my wife's phone requirements are far higher than mine. She could probably use an expensive phone subsidized every two years - what if there were flexible plan options to account for such differences in usage?

Unfortunately, I find it highly unlikely this will happen any time soon.

[Dreadnaught]

Agreed, that's a logical corollary -- decoupling the phone from the plan. But I agree, this is unlikely. That said, as more people upgrade to smartphones with shorter lifecycles (at least at this phase of the industry), most people probably won't care for a while.

[earthJoker]

I only buy unlocked phones. I think France got it right there when they enforced that every phone has to be available unlocked. And thanks to France, you can have any phone imported unlocked here too.

[Khendraja'aro]

Germany's O2 only sells phones decoupled from the mobile plan now. They've also been unlocked for the longest time.

[Flixy]

I think more options to have plans that don't subsidize the phone purchase would be even better. I replace my phone with the cheapest durable phone on the market that has basic functions (text, talk, bluetooth). If I could just buy the phone with cash and have a cheaper plan, I could probably save hundreds of dollars a year, not to mention having portability between operators if I decide I don't like one (no 2-year commitment). There are very few options available in the US to do this with a decent operator.

Furthermore, I have a family plan and my wife's phone requirements are far higher than mine. She could probably use an expensive phone subsidized every two years - what if there were flexible plan options to account for such differences in usage?

Unfortunately, I find it highly unlikely this will happen any time soon.

Can't you get a SIM only plan? Those are standard here. You just get the phone plan (and a SIM card if you aren't already a customer), and it's a lot cheaper than plans where you get the phone. You can just put the card in any (unlocked) phone and use it. I did take a new plan with a new phone, because I needed the new phone - but if I had extended my plan without getting a new phone I'd have gotten the same plan for significantly less money. And I think SIM only plans come with a 6 month commitment, usually.

I think all phones here come unlocked.