maroush

Nalaik Phaanda, the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) is a copyright law in the US.

The most important thing to remember is that unlocking your iphone is legal, so long as it's for personal use.

Further info (ucan.org):

"Basic American copyright law protects the software code, or firmware that runs the Iphone and locks it to AT&T's network. Additional protections exist from the always controversial Digital Millenium Copyright Act (let's just say that if a laws appeared on celebrity gossip sites, the DMCA would be front and center most days). The DMCA offers additional protection to rights holders by restricting users of copyrighted material from circumventing technological protection measures intended to restrict access to the copyrighted material. This includes accessing content even for legitimate, fair uses of content. However, in November of 2006, the Copyright Office approved 6 exceptions to the DMCA "anti-circumvention" restrictions.

While there is nuance to discuss, and attorneys will appear on both sides, one of these exceptions clearly included provisioins allowing consumers to unlock their cellphones "for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network."

"For the sole purpose" is the key phrase here. It indicates that you, for your personal need to use your iphone on a communication network other than AT&T's, can circumvent protections AT&T has embedded into its phone. On the other hand, you will not likely see a bunch of unlocked phones on Ebay in a few days, since circumventing technological protection measures in order to make them available for sale would not be viewed as for the "sole purpose of lawfully connecting..."