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Every three years, the US government hears the arguments of citizens, small businesses, technology experts and large corporations about the type of repairs or modifications that users should legally be able to use on the technology they own. The most recent of these hearings took place earlier in 2018 and the US Copyright Office released its final decision this week, offering users the opportunity to legally make certain repairs on their smartphones, their smart hubs, etc.
This may seem odd, but under Article 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) passed in 2001, companies can sue users for performing repairs or operations on their devices if they believe that they violate their copyrights.
The following is a list of changes listed by device category. In the meantime, here is a little more background on this week's decision.
DMCA Section 1201
This may seem odd, but under Article 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) passed in 2001, companies can sue users for performing repairs or operations on their devices if they believe that they violate their copyrights. However, the law also gives citizens the opportunity to appeal to Congress to obtain waivers of certain remedies and other procedures that would otherwise be contrary to section 1201 of the DMCA.
The 2015 decision gave device owners the ability to unlock and jailbreak some smartphones, tablets, TVs and other smart devices; change the software on 3D printers and motorized land vehicles; and allowed users to perform safety research on all of the aforementioned devices, as well as on certain medical implants.
This year, the Copyright Office has heard arguments in favor of: circumventing HDCP copyright protection on HDMI video signals; jailbreak smart appliances for the home; and give users the ability to bypass digital locks that manufacturers put on smartphones, among others. You can read a detailed explanation of both section 1201 of the DMCA, small legal characters and a first-person account of this year on the iFixit blog.
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Amendments to the 2018 Copyright Decision
The following is a list of the permissions granted (and not allowed) in the final 2018 decision:
Legal: Jailbreak and install a new firmware on the devices of the voice assistant
The law now allows users to jailbreak their voice assistants. That includes just about everything powered by Alexa – your Amazon Echo speakers, Amazon Fire TV Cube, and so on. – and other voice assistants. The decision means that you can bypass the DRM on these devices to make repairs or install new software.
Legal: Jailbreaking / rooting smartphones
Like voice assistants, it is now legal to root / jailbreak your smartphone to solve a problem yourself – which previously void your warranty in some cases. Similarly, new smartphones purchased "locked" to a network or provider can now be unlocked immediately. Previously, only used phones could be unlocked.
It will be interesting to see if this exemption affects the way some manufacturers sell their phones, such as Verizon requiring users to activate unlocked devices such as Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL on their network to unlock them.
Legal: Jailbreaking / rooting of smart home appliances and smart home systems
Smart home appliances and concentrators also benefit from a general "repair" exemption that extends to the rooting of firmware in order to solve problems. The iFixit article exemplifies the Revolv application and the smart home hub, which Google permanently blocked by shutting down Revolv servers in 2016. With this change, users who have retained their Revolv hub could use the system firmware to restore its system. usability, and the same is true now for any smart home device.
Legal: Repair of motorized land vehicles and their software
You may legally repair / modify the software of any land vehicle equipped with an engine (cars (including Teslas and other electric cars), trucks, tractors, construction vehicles, motorcycles, etc.). This change also allows users to access the telematics system of their vehicle. diagnostic data to diagnose mechanical and software problems.
Legal: third-party repairs
Not only can the owners of the devices listed above perform the repairs themselves, but it is now also legal for third-party repairers and companies to proceed with repairs without being subject to prosecution, which was disconcerting – before this change.
Illegal: Distribution Tools for DRM Bypass
Digital Rights Management software or jailbreaking tools remain illegal to distribute. It is perfectly legal for users to download and use tools that jailbreak their personal devices, but you can still face legal consequences if you are surprised to develop or download such software.
Illegal: Repair of the game console
It is still illegal to repair your own game consoles. Even if you can perform the same authorized upgrades, such as exchanging the standard PlayStation 4 HDD with a larger one, replacement of optical discs or other components is not covered. Such replacements and any repairs on hardware or software patches must always be done by the manufacturers.
Illegal: software modification on nautical and marine vehicles and smart devices
Exemptions granted to motorized land vehicles, smartphones, smart devices and voice assistants do not apply to airplanes, boats or other non-terrestrial intelligent vehicles / devices.
Illegal: bypass HDMI copy protection
It remains illegal to bypass the HDCP protection used by HDMI video signals.
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