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US Copyright Office Says People Have the Right to Hack their Own Cars' Software

posted by janrinok on Wednesday October 28 2015, @07:36PM   Printer-friendly
from the so-there dept.

An Anonymous Coward offers the following:

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/28/its-ok-to-hack-your-own-car-us-copyright-authorities-rule

Car owners and security experts can tinker with automobile software without incurring US copyright liability, according to newly issued guidelines that were opposed by the auto industry.

The Library of Congress, which oversees the US Copyright Office, agreed with fair use advocates who argued that vehicle owners are entitled to modify their cars, which often involves altering software.

Automakers including General Motors and other vehicle manufacturers such as Deere & Co opposed the rules. They said vehicle owners could visit authorized repair shops for changes they may need to undertake.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @12:12AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @12:12AM (#255821)

    In researching my reply , I came across this: Open Source IoT Code Is Not The Entire Answer [blogspot.ca].

    Summary: Whether or not to open sourcing embedded software is the wrong question. The right question is how can we ensure independent checks and balances on software safety and security. Independent certification agencies have been doing this for decades. So why not use them?

    I was going to point out that the automakers are probably using proprietary code modules that they are not allowed to disclose. (Much like doom was released under the GPL without the music playing code)

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @12:29AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @12:29AM (#255826)

    Open source isn't good enough. It must be Free Software. Anything else is intolerable. And just because Free Software bugs and exploits aren't always found doesn't mean that it isn't better than non-free proprietary software on the security front. Of course, at the end of the day, freedom is what matters most.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @01:02AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @01:02AM (#255837)

      From one AC to another ...

      The big car US/Euro/Japan companies are not going to release or GPL their code and they are going to defend as much as possible against anyone reverse engineering their code (including the distasteful business of lobbying politicians).

      The long term problem/enemy that they see is China, India and other rising economies -- where there are a dozen or two car companies that are growing rapidly and are already competing with the established car companies in some markets.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @02:01AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @02:01AM (#255847)

        Well, then we should refuse to use their cars and campaign for laws that will force them to release their software as Free Software. I am usually not in favor of forcing this (though I refuse to use proprietary software), but it is clear that having a car is unavoidable in many people's cases.