Comments on: Root is Part of Fair Use, According to New DMCA Exemptions

By: SteveIowa

SteveIowa — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 23:40:41 +0000

Please don’t tell me, your all forgetting another part of the ruling. The Part ‘I’ Love the most. We are now able to take our own, used phones. Over to another carrier with us! Like an HTC Evo, over to U.S.Cellular, or Verizon. (CDMA to CDMA) Droid X to Sprint.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:08:17 +0000

Let’s also not forget that Sony has succeeded in pulling OtherOS support from the Playstation 3! I would have bought an Xbox 360 if I had known they could pull stunts like that!

By: MadDawg

MadDawg — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:25:59 +0000

They should have reviewed bloatware and the provider/manufacturer’s ability to not allow it to be uninstalled. If it isn’t integral to the OS, then we as the user should have the right to uninstall it.
Yeah.. the Blockbuster app is.. uhhh.. kinda kewl.. but.. I don’t use Blockbuster anymore and the fact that I have to pay the same price to rent a movie on my phone for 24 hours of viewing as I would walking into a store to rent it or 4 times as much to rent it at a BlockBuster Express kiosk….. Blah. I’d rather buy the movie and rip it to my phone.. Now there is some fair use for ya!

By: scarshapedstar

scarshapedstar — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:23:15 +0000

“@jj- I wouldnt hold my breath on the bootloader being unlocked which is what is needed for custom roms. Its the same bootloader on the milestone and nobody has gotten anywhere on that in 7+ months.It aint going to happen!”

Psst. The Droid X has already been rooted.

;)

By: Cool

Cool — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:16:46 +0000

Uprooted, the 3 year review of DCMA and copyright restrictions has made an exemption that is long over due with respect to the digital spectrum. Narrow or not, what it says is that if my actions are not to use the device for illegal purposes, such as stealing signal/services, then FAIR use would dictate that ROOT ACCESS is NOT in violation of the acts. That is all good and as it SHOULD be.
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Like I said, it’s HIGH TIME, that a consumer, gets the RIGHT to do whatever they want with equipment they PURCHASE and OWN!!!
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:)

By: Fred

Fred — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:00:46 +0000

That sound you here is Steven Job’s teeth gnashing!

By: Ace Curry

Ace Curry — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:49:26 +0000

Of course it voids the warranty, this basically says you are “allowed” to do it (ie cannot be put into jail, incur any fines, etc).

By: uprooted

uprooted — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:28:38 +0000

@Cool, how do you pilfer open source code? Or are you saying that the custom ROMs are just as closed as the manufacturer’s code? Also, did you read the language of the exemption or just skim the article. It appears to be a narrowly worded exemption, not a free-for all.

By: Cool

Cool — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:20:20 +0000

The issue goes much father than whether DCMA “allows” you to change your handset innards. lol… There is some serious collusion and possible anti-trust activities amongst the carriers and handset manufacturers. Arthur, actually, it can very well prevent them from doing just that… can you imagine automobile manufacturers preventing you or anyone else from working on their products? Or preventing an automobile from using gasoline that is not in agreement with the manufacturer?
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It’s ridiculous and high time the Law’s meet Fair Use Doctrine and give back to the consumers their RIGHTS over equipment they purchase (must), not only that, but equipment that is un-usable anywhere else.
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So if it “IS” fair use, any attempt on their part to prevent you from performing said use (rooting) can be corrected by the courts!!! Niceeeee…. hahaha!
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That all said, I think there has been real benefits to the mobile handset community and the OS developers by the dark side users. I mean, come on now, tell me some of those custom ROM’s Code didn’t get pilfered and place into some updates. ;)

By: uprooted

uprooted — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:54:13 +0000

This is really a non-story. It reads like, “You can legally root your phone to perform authorized functions.” Doh! You don’t need to root your phone to use authorized functions. Sure, there’s the “interoperability” clause in there, but how many applications need root to interoperate? It’s a lot of words to say, “Business as usual.” As far as warranty, rooting itself may or may not void it, but most anything you would use root to do (like overclocking) certainly will. If you kill your phone and unroot to collect on the warranty, well, that’s fraud. Take that for what it’s worth.

By: jj

jj — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:49:16 +0000

@Matt I know all of that. I was just speaking theoretically and also in regards to phones that have already been unlocked.

By: going_home

going_home — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:30:57 +0000

If you water your phone will it root ?

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:21:34 +0000

@jj- I wouldnt hold my breath on the bootloader being unlocked which is what is needed for custom roms. Its the same bootloader on the milestone and nobody has gotten anywhere on that in 7+ months.

It aint going to happen!

By: ramseyja

ramseyja — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:35:15 +0000

@gabe, no it shouldn’t void warranty. just to be on safe side never mention it to verizon, and if need repair, un root first to avoid any issues.

on a side note, my fried got the droid x this weekend, walmart had some in stock. got it rooted. then the camera hardware died. no longer would take pictures. so had to unroot.

By: gabe

gabe — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:21:34 +0000

so someone answer this for me please. If i root my droid x, and don’t put any ROM’s or anything on it, will it void my warranty? Thanks!