3 ms·

I think in all those cases you mentioned it would be usage restrictions rather than actually being able to change the physical object you bought. And it would b

I think in all those cases you mentioned it would be usage restrictions rather than actually being able to change the physical object you bought. And it would be the government saying you can't do something, not BMW or Colt handguns. Again, INAL, but I thought you could modify a semi-auto and saw off the barrel as long as they were used at the shooting range (for instance...probably a state by state law as well). And I'm fairly certain you can bypass the emission on the car to modify to make it a track car, for instance, or make it farm equipment. Again, not really up on the law, more anecdotes I've seen in my personal life.

megaframe 16y ago
I agree... usage issue: another example is modify a phone so it transmits at non-standard frequencies I'm in my right to do it. If I'm at home or a non-public place that's shielded I can do what I want, but the public airways outside are under FCC regulation and then I'm breaking the law not for doing the modification but for using it in regulated space. It's the same way a companies tests out development phones and transmitters before getting a licence.
CWuestefeld 16y ago
I thought you could modify a semi-auto and saw off the barrel as long as they were used at the shooting range (for instance...probably a state by state law as well Nope, it's a federal law that prohibits you from possessing a short-barreled shotgun or a full-auto anything. This is since the National Firearms Act of 1934. Selling such a shotgun (after being goaded into it and entrapped by a ATF agent) was what precipitated the Ruby Ridge massacre. In fact -- and you'd think this would fall foul of the 1st Amendment -- it's illegal to distribute a pamphlet that tells someone how to convert their rifle to full auto.
chris_j 16y ago
> And it would be the government saying you can't do something, not BMW or Colt handguns. I think this is a key point. Is it the government telling you that you can't do something (that is against the law) or a company using the law to prevent you doing something that they don't want you to do. I would guess that the former would be governed by criminal law and the latter by civil law - please correct me if I am wrong. In this case, it is Sony using the law to try to prevent people learning how to root their PS3s and doing so through civil courts.

megaframe 16y ago

I agree... usage issue: another example is modify a phone so it transmits at non-standard frequencies I'm in my right to do it. If I'm at home or a non-public place that's shielded I can do what I want, but the public airways outside are under FCC regulation and then I'm breaking the law not for doing the modification but for using it in regulated space. It's the same way a companies tests out development phones and transmitters before getting a licence.

CWuestefeld 16y ago

I thought you could modify a semi-auto and saw off the barrel as long as they were used at the shooting range (for instance...probably a state by state law as well Nope, it's a federal law that prohibits you from possessing a short-barreled shotgun or a full-auto anything. This is since the National Firearms Act of 1934. Selling such a shotgun (after being goaded into it and entrapped by a ATF agent) was what precipitated the Ruby Ridge massacre. In fact -- and you'd think this would fall foul of the 1st Amendment -- it's illegal to distribute a pamphlet that tells someone how to convert their rifle to full auto.

chris_j 16y ago

> And it would be the government saying you can't do something, not BMW or Colt handguns. I think this is a key point. Is it the government telling you that you can't do something (that is against the law) or a company using the law to prevent you doing something that they don't want you to do. I would guess that the former would be governed by criminal law and the latter by civil law - please correct me if I am wrong. In this case, it is Sony using the law to try to prevent people learning how to root their PS3s and doing so through civil courts.