>
> read on .... more than just cell fones as stated in the title:
>
> Cell Phone Owners Allowed To Break Software Locks
>;
> Cell phone owners will be allowed to break software locks on
> their
>; handsets in order to use them with competing carriers under new
> copyright rules announced Wednesday. Other copyright exemptions
> approved
> by the Library of Congress will let film professors copy snippets from
> DVDs for educational compilations and let blind people use special
> software to read copy-protected electronic books. All told,
> Librarian of
> Congress James H. Billington approved six exemptions, the most his
> Copyright Office has ever granted.
>
> For the first time, the office exempted groups of users.
> Previously, Billington took an all-or-nothing approach, making
> exemptions difficult to justify. ''I am very encouraged by the fact
> that
> the Copyright Office is willing to recognize exemptions for
> archivists,
> cell phone recyclers and computer security experts,'' said Fred von
> Lohmann, an attorney with the civil-liberties group Electronic
> Frontier
> Foundation. ''Frankly I'm surprised and pleased they were
> granted.'' But
> von Lohmann said he was disappointed the Copyright Office rejected a
> number of exemptions that could have benefited consumers, including
> one
> that would have let owners of DVDs legally copy movies for use on
> Apple
>; Computer Inc.'s iPod and other portable players. The new rules will
> take
> effect Monday and expire in three years.
>
> In granting the exemption for cell phone users, the Copyright
> Office determined that consumers aren't able to enjoy full legal
> use of
> their handsets because of software locks that wireless providers have
> been placing to control access to phones' underlying programs.
> Providers of prepaid phone services, in particular, have been
> trying to
> stop entrepreneurs from buying subsidized handsets to resell at a
> profit. But even customers of regular plans generally can't bring
> their
>; phones to another carrier, even after their contracts run out.
> Billington noted that at least one company has filed lawsuits claiming
> that breaking the software locks violates copyright law, which
> makes it
> illegal for people to circumvent copy-protection technologies
> without an
> exemption from the Copyright Office. He said the locks appeared in
> place
>; not to protect the developer of the cell phone software but for
> third-party interests. Officials with the industry group CTIA-The
> Wireless Association did not return phone calls for comment Wednesday.
>
>; The exemption granted to film professors authorizes the
> breaking of
> the CSS copy-protection technology found in most DVDs. Programs to
> do so
> circulate widely on the Internet, though it has been illegal to use or
> distribute them. The professors said they need the ability to create
> compilations of DVD snippets to teach their classes -- for example,
> taking portions of old and new cartoons to study how animation has
> evolved. Such compilations are generally permitted under ''fair use''
>; provisions of copyright law, but breaking the locks to make the
> compilations has been illegal. Hollywood studios have argued that
> educators could turn to videotapes and other versions without the copy
> protections, but the professors argued that DVDs are of higher quality
> and may preserve the original colors or dimensions that videotapes
> lack.
>;
>
> ''The record did not reveal any alternative means to meet the
> pedagogical needs of the professors,'' Billington wrote. Billington
> also
> authorized the breaking of locks on electronic books so that blind
>; people can use them with read-aloud software and similar aides. He
> granted two exemptions dealing with computer obsolescence. For
> computer
> software and video games that require machines no longer available,
> copy-protection controls may be circumvented for archival purposes.
> Locks on computer programs also may be broken if they require
> dongles --
> small computer attachments -- that are damaged and can't be replaced.
> The final exemption lets researchers test CD copy-protection
> technologies for security flaws or vulnerabilities. Researchers had
> cited Sony BMG Music Entertainment's use of copy-protection systems
> that
> installed themselves on personal computers to limit copying. In doing
>; so, critics say, Sony BMG exposed the computers to hacking, and the
> company has acknowledged problems with one of the technologies used on
> some 5.7 million CDs.
>
>
>;
.