Yes, it’s YAiL (Yet Another iPhone Lawsuit)

I’m thinking perhaps we need an iPhone Lawsuit Drinking* Game. Or maybe I just need a drink** every time I start hearing about another iPhone lawsuit. Last week, it was someone complaining about the $200 price drop on the iPhone. Today, it’s a California resident, Timothy Smith, claiming that Apple has violated state antitrust laws by forcing you to use your iPhone with AT&T, preventing unlocking for other carriers, and bricking phones that have been unlocked.

The suit also points to a DMCA exemption that supposedly makes it legal to unlock a phone after ninety days. Now, my lawyering skills (culled from watching too much Night Court) extend about as far as yelling “Objection!” at random passersby, but it would seem to me that the exemption is for the DMCA specifically: i.e., that companies can’t use the DMCA to sue you if you choose to unlock your phone for use on another network. Clearly, people with far more letters after their names than me are going to spend more time discussing this issue.

Smith doesn’t quote a dollar figure for damages in the suit, but rather asks for an injunction that would bar Apple from selling the iPhone with a software lock in place. At the moment, Smith is the only plaintiff in the suit, which seems like being the only person to show up at your party. Maybe some other people will show up with some drinks.†

[via PC World]

* With iced tea, naturally.
** of iced tea
† Er, you get the idea.

Category: News

Posted by Dan Moren on Oct 8 2007, 4:44 PM ET

• © 2007 Mac Publishing, LLC.
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service
• Community Standards