Iphone-coppertone Circumventing Apple’s safeguards in order to install unapproved applications on the iPhone is called “jailbreaking,” but doing so won’t get you landed in the slammer, according to new government rules announced Monday.

While some use the practice for deploying rogue apps or for accessing advanced customization settings, others jailbreak their phones so that they can be used on other carriers.

To read this report in the Los Angeles Times in full, see:
latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/07/iphone-jailbreak-legal.html

Also see:

In Ruling on iPhones, Apple Loses a Bit of Its Grip
Apple likes to maintain tight control over what programs can appear on the iPhone — a task that just became a little bit harder.

The Library of Congress, which has the power to define exceptions to an important copyright law, said on Monday that it was legal to bypass a phone’s controls on what software it will run to get “lawfully obtained” programs to work.
www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/technology/27iphone.html

‘Jailbreaking’ the iPhone
Changes in federal copyright laws will allow users of Apple’s iPhone and other smart phones to lawfully download applications that aren’t approved by the phone maker or carrier, according to the Library of Congress.

The practice, known as “jailbreaking” has been criticized by Apple and other firms, who say their mobile devices can become destabilized when users download unapproved software applications. Apple would not comment on whether it would sue the Library of Congress’s copyright office for the changes made to the Digital Millennial Copyright Act announced Monday.
voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2010/07/changes_in_federal_copyright_l.html