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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100726/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_digital_copyright

WASHINGTON - Owners of the iPhone will be able to legally unlock their devices so they can run software applications that haven't
been approved by Apple Inc., according to new government rules announced Monday.

The decision to allow the practice commonly known as "jailbreaking" is one of a handful of new exemptions from a 1998 federal law
that prohibits people from bypassing technical measures that companies put on their products to prevent unauthorized uses. The
Library of Congress, which oversees the Copyright Office, reviews and authorizes exemptions every three years to ensure that the law
does not prevent certain non-infringing uses of copyright-protected material.

Unless users unlock their devices, they can only download apps from Apple's iTunes store. Software developers must get such apps
pre-approved by Apple, which sometimes demands changes or rejects programs for what the developers say are vague reasons.

The new government rules, however, won't stop Apple from continuing its practice of disabling jailbroken phones with software
upgrades. That means owners of such phones might not be able to take advantage of software improvements, and they still run the risk
of voiding their warranty. All the new rules do is exempt the user from legal liability - something Apple does not appear to be
pursuing anyway. Apple did not return messages for comment Monday.

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