A contract with whom? - Reader comments at The New York Sun

Submitted by Mike Babulic, Aug 27, 2007 11:05

Apple and AT&T may have entered into a contract for exclusive SALES of the iPhone, but they don't have a contract for exclusive USE of the AT&T network with iPhone buyers (a.k.a. consumers). Customers own these phones and are free to modify them to work with any carrier (there is a specific exemption in the DMCA that allows modifying cell phones for this purpose)

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
You would think a former FCC Commissioner would be familiar with the ruling of the Librarian of Congress nine months... [MORE]	Jason	Sep 11, 2007 11:20
A simple question, If I buy the iPhone and then the software to open it up. I then pay another... [MORE]	Dan	Aug 28, 2007 05:45
I have to say that i totally disagree, and in my case I can't have an IPhone, even though I'd... [MORE]	Massiel	Sep 3, 2007 13:19
For Apple it's important to prove to the world of telcom and phone makers that there is a new paradigm... [MORE]	ken	Aug 27, 2007 21:34
Hi all I've been watching the developments with the iPhone with interest. I'm in Australia and having been tortured by WM... [MORE]	Adam	Aug 27, 2007 19:47
Mr. Furchtgott-Roth, I respectfully disagree with your supposition that use of the iPhone on other networks represents a theft of intellectual... [MORE]	Steven Sokol	Aug 27, 2007 17:11
I take exception to the part: "Instead, it chose an exclusive contract with AT&T, self-evidently because it was in Apple's... [MORE]	brett	Aug 27, 2007 14:52
Mr. Furchtgott-Roth's argument falls down on several fronts. 1. The iPhone is not available exclusively through AT&T. Apple sells iPhones in... [MORE]	Daniel Knight	Aug 27, 2007 13:06
Nobody is talking about stealing Apple's intellectual property -- nobody is copying the iPhone and selling it as their own,... [MORE]	Ted T.	Aug 27, 2007 11:41
Apple and AT&T may have entered into a contract for exclusive SALES of the iPhone, but they don't have a...	Mike Babulic	Aug 27, 2007 11:05
Even in the wireless world, exclusives regularly exist, albeit typically on technology boundaries. However, many are also carrier exclusives, at... [MORE]	Kirk	Aug 27, 2007 09:21
Jobs and Wozniak started their careers as ... phone hackers!It's only appropriate that someone has hacked Jobs' new phone, especially... [MORE]	Spam Loather	Aug 27, 2007 06:27
Amid all the dross written about the iPhone, there's the occasional piece that stands out for its intelligence and even-handedness.... [MORE]	Trevor	Aug 27, 2007 05:58