Slashdot Mirror
German Court Rules iPhone Locking Legal
l-ascorbic writes "A German court has overturned Vodafone's temporary injunction against T-Mobile. Two weeks ago, the British mobile network won an injunction forcing T-Mobile to sell iPhones that were not locked to its network. Vodafone argued that locking is an anti-competitive practice, and sought to force the German network to permanently allow the use of the phones on other networks. After the injunction was granted, T-Mobile offered the unlocked phones for €999 ($1473), and these will now be withdrawn from sale."
The "if you don't like it don't buy one" logic only works to an extent, every single time a vendor locks a phone it squeezes the market place a little more. The bottom line is I should be able to do what i want with something i pay for, and apple can fuck off and die if they think their control should extend past the sale (or any vendor for that matter)
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
The problem is that some people in the USofA see Europe as one country. Well, it isn't. Each country has its own laws and political situation.
E.g. In Belgium you can not sell a contract as part of a phone deal. Also the phone can never be locked. You can sell them at the same time, but you can not sell them as part of one contract.
I believe it is the same in Portugal. In other countries the situation is different. The fun part is that because much of Europe is one economic entity, you can easily buy a phone in another country unlocked and no contract and use it where you live.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.