Feds Say Hacking DRM To Fix Your Electronics Is Legal (vice.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: The Librarian of Congress and U.S. Copyright Office just proposed new rules that will give consumers and independent repair experts wide latitude to legally hack embedded software on their devices in order to repair or maintain them. This exemption to copyright law will apply to smartphones, tractors, cars, smart home appliances, and many other devices. The move is a landmark win for the "right to repair" movement; essentially, the federal government has ruled that consumers and repair professionals have the right to legally hack the firmware of "lawfully acquired" devices for the "maintenance" and "repair" of that device. Previously, it was legal to hack tractor firmware for the purposes of repair; it is now legal to hack many consumer electronics.

Specifically, it allows breaking digital rights management (DRM) and embedded software locks for "the maintenance of a device or system in order to make it work in accordance with its original specifications" or for "the repair of a device or system to a state of working in accordance with its original specifications." New copyright rules are released once every three years by the U.S. Copyright Office and are officially put into place by the Librarian of Congress. These are considered "exemptions" to section 1201 of U.S. copyright law, and makes DRM circumvention legal in certain specific cases. The new repair exemption is broad, applies to a wide variety of devices (an exemption in 2015 applied only to tractors and farm equipment, for example), and makes clear that the federal government believes you should be legally allowed to fix the things you own.

Comments

Fix, not upgrade

[olsmeister]

Notice the phrase "original specifications".

Re:Fix, not upgrade

[Anonymous Coward]

Notice the phrase "original specifications".

And if the original specifications include a bug in the software, isn't fixing it an upgrade?

Re:Fix, not upgrade

[rtkluttz]

At least original specifications leaves room for argument. Many devices are general purpose computing devices. Just because they may be sold with software that cripples the capability of the hardware, it can be argued that the original specification of the HARDWARE is to have a feature enabled... or even that the original specification of the HARDWARE is that of a general purpose computing device where the only limitations are the imagination of the person writing the software. This is the first step in a foothold for enshrining that hardware and software are two separate things.

Re:Fix, not upgrade

[omnichad]

Oh, good. I have a stack of DVDs where the advertised purpose is to have a license to watch a movie. Format shifting it is just correcting an implementation bug.

Re:Fix, not upgrade

[bobbied]

Notice the phrase "original specifications".

Yea that caught my attention. I'm sure the question is about intent.

IF you are trying to fix something that's broken, but not modify the way the overall item works, then you are allowed to reverse engineer DRM protections. So, in the case of a motor vehicle, you can modify the drive train controller to use a non-manufacturer specified sensor as long as you don't change how the vehicle operates. So no emissions changes, no changes in performance, just swapping out sensors or parts to repair the overall device? Have at it. Replacing parts with cheaper non-manufacturer specific parts? You are free to do this.

What isn't as clear is reverse engineering a router's boot loader and firmware so you can run your own private firmware that does something different, has a different user interface or allows you to modify the radio power output outside of manufacturer specs. That may not be allowed.

Modify your I-phone's firmware so that third party digitizer works (allowed).

Modify your VW's Engine Controls so it passes emissions testing, but reverts to better economy higher emissions settings when driven.. (Not allowed)

Reverse Engineer your car's CAN buss data to add a new entertainment device that can interact with the rest of the vehicle? (Not allowed)

Bypass DRM controls on your consumer entertainment device so you can repair it with cheaper readily available parts? (Allowed)

Bypass DRM controls on the device to get the HDMI to connect but allow you access to the raw unencrypted data? (Not allowed)

What about violating patents?

[mykepredko]

I would think that DRM is only part of the equation - if you "hack" the firmware, isn't there a good chance you'll be illegally using somebody's patent somewhere (especially if you are a third party, ie repair company).

You may think this will work in your favour comin' but I think you gotta watch yourself goin'.

How about video games?

[rsilvergun]

lots of games don't work anymore because of DRM. Especially multiplayer games.

Re:WOW, What's this mean for the PS3

[Bert64]

And the linux feature was originally added to the ps3 so sony could claim it was a general purpose computer and not a single purpose games console, in order to circumvent restrictions in place somewhere...

Includes tractors sorry John Deere

[Anonymous Coward]

A win for farmers who were very upset with Deere not allowing owners of their tractors to service them. Something many farmers do on a regular basis. I think anyone should have a right to use whomever to repair their products.