3 ms·

I was completely unaware of the legal issues surrounding cell phone network unlocking. I remember that, in the past, all you had to do was ask your cell carrier

• eli 13y ago
  Yeah, it was weird that the Copyright Office declined to renew the exemption for phone unlocking. Yes, Congress created the problem with the DMCA, but they did specifically set up the Librarian with the power to fix oversights like this. (And I do personally think it was at least initially an oversight and not intentional.)
  • britta 13y ago
    They did renew the exemption, but they limited it to only apply to devices purchased before January 2013. Their mandate is to only provide exemptions for cases that really really need it, and their reasoning for limiting the exemption was that carriers had relaxed their policies for officially unlocking phones (such as AT&T starting to unlock out-of-contract phones). Here's the statement that the Copyright Office published: http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2012/2012-26308_PI.pdf http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2012/2012-26308_PI.pdf - the unlocking exemption is discussed on pages 16-20.