NEW YORK TIMES Column: … Last October, the Library of Congress, which oversees the United States Copyright Office, decided that when a consumer unlocks her cellphone — a process that can be as straightforward as entering a code on the keypad — she may be violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. Essentially, the millions of Americans who try to take their phones with them when they switch wireless carriers are suddenly in the cross hairs of American copyright law. These consumers now face the prospect of harsh fines and even jail time.
The Library’s decision was based on a desire to protect the intellectual property rights to the software that “locks” a cellphone to a particular network — software for which each cellphone owner could be considered a licensee. The Library also noted that some wireless carriers allow unlocking and that unlocked phones are often available from third-party providers.
But the decision — a heavy-handed and unnecessary intervention into the private marketplace — is a classic example of government overreach. It allows a wireless carrier to sue, under copyright law, a consumer who unlocks her phone even if that consumer has paid off her two-year contract with the carrier or never had a contract in the first place… (more)
