The United States Copyright Office recently passed a decision that will allow people to have more freedom in repairing and modifying their own devices, according to Tech Crunch. Previously, due to the 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, making certain modifications to software could lead to a voided warranty, cancelled service, or lawsuit.
The original hope of this act was to protect digital copyright on software and media, but many tech manufacturers have taken advantage of the law. Most notably, companies, wanting to keep reparation business in-house, have installed locks in their devices that hinder users from repairing devices themselves. This means that customers are forced to pay money to a company to fix a malfunctioning device that the company itself manufactured.
Every three years, the U.S. Copyright Office reconvenes to establish exemptions to Section 1201 that they see appropriate. These exemptions are temporary and must be renewed every three years, which often requires re-arguing the case.
The 2018 exemptions contain quite a few gems that make major changes to copyright law. For instance, users can now jailbreak Amazon Echoes, Google Homes, and Apple HomePods. The last discussion regarding exemptions was in 2015, when home assistance devices were not widely popular like they are today. Now users can legally install open-source software in those devices.
Another of 2018’s major copyright changes is the user’s newfound ability to unlock new phones. This allows people to unlock software to work with a different ISP. This was previously only possible with used phones.
A few more big changes include the ability to fix or reactivate smart home devices even after the maker has gone out of business, access and modify land vehicle software like cars and tractors for reparation purposes, and hire third-party providers to repair devices for your. IFixit, one of those third-parties who provide repairs to smartphones and computer, has been a major voice throughout these copyright conversations.
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