After the recent announcements of the abilities to successfully unlocking Apples iphone, iphoneunlocking.com is now hesitating after calls from lawyers representing AT&T.
Unlocking the phone for one"s own use, for instance to place calls with a different carrier, appears to be legal. But if it"s done for financial gain, the legality is less certain.
"Whether people can make profits from software that hacks the iPhone is going to depend very much on exactly what was done to develop that software and what does that software do," Bart Showalter, head of Dallas-based Intellectual Property practice group at law firm Baker Botts, said.
The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress last year issued a statement that unlocking mobile phones was not a violation of copyright under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
John McLaughlin of Uniquephones.com, an outfit based in Northern Ireland, said in a phone interview Wednesday that its unlocking software for iPhones is ready, but the company is holding off while it gets legal advice.