August 05, 2010
Following a landmark ruling in US courts which allows iPhone users to ‘jailbreak’ their devices and access copyrighted material, UK users have been warned that similar actions could land them in court.
Jailbreaking allows iPhone owners to download applications not approved by Apple’s highly regulated online stores. Earlier this month, US courts agreed that users have the right to adapt their purchase in a manner of their choosing and doing so would not violate Apple’s copyright protections.
However, under UK law, altering a device in order to gain access to its operating system could be construed as “circumventing a protection system”, currently seen as copyright infringement.
In America, Apple’s argument that manipulating its hardware breached copyright laws was refuted by the Copyright Office, which ruled: “The user is not engaging in any commercial exploitation of the firmware ... at least not when the jailbreaking is done for the user's own private use of the device.”
But Britain’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) regulations differ greatly from America’s relative bodies.
Statements on the IPO website explain that “technical protection measures” designed to prevent “unauthorised, restricted acts in respect of copyright protected works” can be “perfectly legitimate tools” to restrict certain uses of artists or creators works.
“Workarounds, or circumvention, of such protection measures is illegal and may result in the right holder taking civil and/or criminal action against the person carrying out such an act,” it adds.
While criminal action and court fines would only be applicable to those users who aim to sell ‘jailbreaking’ software, millions have been warned to leave their device as it stands and not risk legal action.
