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	Is Unlocking Cell Phones Legal or Illegal?

Solution Unlocking your Cell phone is legal in most, almost all countries around the world . This includes the Canada, US and UK.
Once you purchase a cell phone it is your legal property and you can do whatever it is you please with your phone. No one can tell you what to do or not with it.

Some people view unlocking a cell phone as a "Grey market" issue, not illegal however not "fully" legal either. Others have also argued that unlocking a cell phone could tamper with a phone's firmware, which is in it self copywrited material and therefore would render unlocking illegal.
Although the above points to seem to have merit, they are infact not true. US Congress has recentley passed a law that specifically deals with this issue.
Quoted:

"Computer programs in the form of firmware that enable wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telephone communication network, when circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network."

In a nutshell the law exempts cell phone unlocking programs/methods from any violation of data rights managment, for more information please consult the following article: http://www.theregister.com/2006/11/23/congress_dmca_cellphones_censorware/

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24 Nov 2006 08:42 PM