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'''DMCA 1201 and the Right to Reverse Engineer''' refers to the ongoing conflict between technology companies' use of Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to prevent consumers from accessing devices they own, blurring the line between illegal hacking and legitimate reverse engineering to maintain control over products after their sale.
{{ToneWarning}}


==Background==
This article addresses the widespread, harmful misconception that breaking a digital lock or modifying software behavior is '''always''' ''"illegal hacking".'' In truth, U.S. law, while flawed, draws a clear line between lawful reverse engineering & criminal activity.


'''Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act''' (DMCA 1201), enacted in 1998, prohibits the circumvention of digital rights management (DRM) technologies that protect copyrighted works. While originally intended to prevent piracy of movies, music, and software, companies have increasingly weaponized this law to prevent consumers from exercising ownership rights over devices they have purchased.
Companies often exploit this confusion to suppress ownership rights, discourage commonplace repair, and interrupt interoperability under the guise of protecting security or intellectual property. The following information will  clarify legal distinctions, correct the narrative, and explain why reverse engineering your own device to restore or preserve its functionality is not, and should never be deemed, a crime.


The law makes it illegal to bypass DRM protections regardless of intent, and also prohibits manufacturing or distributing tools that enable circumvention. However, it includes exemptions for activities like security research, accessibility modifications, and educational uses, though these exemptions have periodic reviews by the Library of Congress.
In this article, "hack" or "illegal hacking" is used interchangeably for illegally hacking, or "to get into someone else's computer system without permission in order to do something illegal" ([https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hack#cald4-1-3 Hack | Cambridge Dictionary]). This should not be confused with the slang "hack" that describe the act of tinkering or modifying a device (like "a hackable laptop").


==Legal reverse engineering vs. illegal hacking==
References to U.S. and  E.U. (European Union) law can be found, alongside practical examples and hypotheticals to further understand where the line between legal and illegal activity resides.


There is a legal distinction between reverse engineering and illegal hacking that companies often deliberately try to blur to maintain control over devices.
==What section 1201 is for==


===Reverse engineering===
'''Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act''' (DMCA), passed in 1998, prohibits the circumvention of ''"technological protection measures"'' (TPMs) used to control access to copyrighted works. It also prohibits the distribution of tools designed primarily for circumvention.


'''Reverse engineering''' is the legal practice of analyzing a product to understand how it works, typically through examination of its behavior, disassembly of hardware, or analysis of software interfaces. In the United States, reverse engineering has been protected under copyright law when done for legitimate purposes such as:
What makes Section 1201 controversial is that it penalizes circumvention '''regardless of whether any copyright infringement occurred'''. In other words, even if you just want to modify or fix a product you legally own, you may still be in "violation" if the manufacturer practices overreach with DRM.


*Understanding how a device functions for personal use
To soften this universal approach of limiting consumer rights, Congress allowed for temporary exemptions to be reviewed every three years by the Library of Congress. These exemptions currently include limited instances of repair, diagnosis, security research, accessibility, and jailbreaking of phones. However, the process is cumbersome, narrow in scope, and inconsistently applied.
*Creating interoperable software or hardware
*Security research and vulnerability findings
*Academic research and education
*Repairing devices you own


Courts have upheld the right to reverse engineer products, recognizing it as essential for innovation, competition, and consumer rights.
==Legal reverse engineering vs. illegal Hacking==


===Illegal hacking===
Contrary to what some CEOs & PR departments have said, '''reverse engineering is legal in many contexts''' - especially when done for purposes of interoperability, repair, research, or personal use.


'''Illegal hacking''' involves unauthorized access to computer systems, networks, or data belonging to others. This includes activities such as:
===What counts as legal reverse engineering===


*Breaking into computer networks without permission
The U.S. legal system has repeatedly upheld the right to reverse engineer in certain contexts, particularly when the intent is to enable interoperability or understand how something works. Notable court decisions include:
*Accessing confidential data on systems you don't own
*Distributing pirated copyrighted content
*Using reverse engineering knowledge to commit crimes


The key distinction is that illegal hacking involves accessing systems or data you don't have rights to, while reverse engineering involves analyzing products you already own.
*'''Sega Enterprises Ltd. v. Accolade, Inc.''' (1992): The Ninth Circuit ruled that disassembling code to understand how to make compatible software was fair use.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sega Enters. Ltd. v. Accolade, Inc., 977 F.2d 1510 (9th Cir. 1992) |url=https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/summaries/segaenters-accolade-9thcir1992.pdf}}</ref>


==How companies blur the distinction==
*'''Sony Computer Entertainment v. Connectix Corp.''' (2000): The court affirmed that reverse engineering to create a competing product (a PlayStation emulator) was legal & transformative, and that making intermediate copies of a copyrighted bios for use in software development constitutes fair use .<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony Computer Entm’t, Inc. v. Connectix Corp., 203 F.3d 596 (9th Cir. 2000) |url=https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/summaries/sony-connectix-9thcir2000.pdf}}</ref>


Large technology companies have worked to confuse legal reverse engineering with illegal hacking to prevent consumers from exercising ownership rights over purchased devices.
*'''Lexmark Int'l v. Static Control Components''' (2004): The Sixth Circuit ruled that Static Control could reverse engineer printer firmware to enable third-party toner cartridges. The court pointed out that interoperability trumped DMCA anti-circumvention claims.<ref name="lexmark">[[wikipedia:Lexmark_International,_Inc._v._Static_Control_Components,_Inc.|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexmark_International,_Inc._v._Static_Control_Components,_Inc.]]</ref>


===Weaponizing DMCA 1201===
*'''Chamberlain Group v. Skylink Technologies''' (2004): The Federal Circuit held that creating universal garage door remotes through reverse engineering was legitimate, establishing that DMCA violations must connect to actual copyright infringement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The CHAMBERLAIN GROUP, INC., Plaintiff–Appellant, v. SKYLINK TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Defendant–Appellee. No. 04–1118. United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit |url=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Chamberlain_Group_v_Skylink_Technologies.pdf}}</ref>


Companies embed DRM technologies in devices and then claim that any attempt to understand or modify these devices violates DMCA 1201. This strategy allows them to:
*'''DSC Communications v. DGI Technologies''' (1995): Courts held that disassembling firmware to create compatible microprocessor cards constituted fair use, establishing that functional elements accessed only through disassembly can be lawfully copied.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DSC Communications Corp. v. DGI Technologies, Inc., 898 F. Supp. 1183 (N.D. Tex. 1995) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/898/1183/1464449/}}</ref>


*Prevent third-party repairs by claiming repair tools "circumvent" DRM
*'''Assessment Technologies v. WIREdata''' (2003): The Seventh Circuit ruled that reverse engineering to access public domain data trapped within copyrighted software is permissible, preventing copyright from creating "locks" on non-copyrightable information.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Assessment Technologies of Wi, Llc, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Wiredata, Inc., Defendant-appellant, 350 F.3d 640 (7th Cir. 2003) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/350/640/625754/}}</ref>
*Block connectivity with competing products
*Force consumers into expensive subscription services
*Maintain control over devices after the sale


===Misleading terminology===
Legal reverse engineering generally includes:
*Analyzing software you own for repair or maintenance
*Studying protocols to make devices work with third-party tools
*Extracting firmware from your own hardware
*Building alternate apps that communicate with your devices
*Publishing technical findings that don't contain copyrighted code
*Good faith security research under DMCA exemptions


Technology companies frequently use inflammatory language to describe legitimate consumer activities:
===What constitutes illegal hacking===


*Calling device modification "jailbreaking" or "rooting" to suggest criminal activity
Illegal hacking, by contrast, involves:
*Referring to reverse engineering as "hacking" to imply illegality
*Accessing remote systems without authorization
*Claiming that accessing firmware constitutes "piracy"
*Bypassing login or authentication mechanisms on someone else's network
*Describing interoperability efforts as "unauthorized access"
*Stealing or distributing copyrighted code without a license
*Tampering with systems in ways that compromise others' data or services
*Continuing access after explicit revocation (see '''Facebook v. Power Ventures''', 2016)<ref>{{Cite web |title=FACEBOOK, INC., a Delaware corporation, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. POWER VENTURES, INC., DBA Power.com, a California corporation; POWER VENTURES, INC., a Cayman Island corporation, Defendants, and STEVEN SURAJ VACHANI, an individual, Defendant-Appellant. |url=https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2016/07/12/13-17102.pdf}}</ref>


This deliberately misleading terminology conflates legal consumer activities with criminal hacking to discourage consumers from exercising their rights.
The key difference is ownership & scope: Reverse engineering stays within the boundary of what you own. Hacking crosses into systems that you don't.


==A real world example: the Futurehome case==
Hacking, in most cases, ''involves'' doing reverse engineering. Companies usually use this to mislead ill-informed people into believing both are illegal hacking. Reverse engineering alone is ''not'' hacking.


The Norwegian smart home company Futurehome provides a clear example of how companies use technical restrictions and legal intimidation to undermine consumer ownership rights, while deliberately mischaracterizing legitimate reverse engineering as "illegal hacking."
==Current DMCA exemptions (2024-2027)==


===The ownership model bait-and-switch===
The Library of Congress granted sweeping new exemptions in October 2024 that greatly expanded repair rights:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/10/28/2024-24563/exemption-to-prohibition-on-circumvention-of-copyright-protection-systems-for-access-control |title=Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies |publisher=Federal Register |date=October 28, 2024}}</ref>


Futurehome originally sold its Smarthub as a one-time purchase with full functionality included.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://support.futurehome.no/hc/en-no/articles/28158944965277-FAQ-Subscription |title=FAQ Subscription - Futurehome |access-date=2025-07-14}}</ref> After the company declared bankruptcy in May 2025, the new owners FHSD Connect AS imposed a mandatory annual subscription fee of 1,188 NOK (approximately $117 USD) to continue using devices customers had already purchased.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tek.no/nyheter/nyhet/i/alMe04/rasende-kunder-opplever-smarthjem-utpressing |title=Rasende og fortvile Futurehome-kunder: – Oppleves som utpressing |website=Tek.no |language=norsk |access-date=2025-07-14}}</ref>
*'''Vehicle telematics data''': Owners can now circumvent software locks to access, store, and share their vehicle's operations and diagnostic data.
*'''Commercial food preparation equipment''': New exemption for retail-level restaurant equipment repair ''(addressing the McDonald's ice cream machine problem).''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bowman |first=Emma |date=November 3, 2024 |title=A new copyright rule lets McDonald's fix its own broken ice cream machines |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/11/02/g-s1-31893/mcdonalds-broken-ice-cream-machine-copyright-law |work=NPR}}</ref>
*'''Consumer devices''': Renewed exemptions for smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, and IoT devices.
*'''Medical devices''': Continued exemption with FDA support, concluding that, contrary to claims otherwise, it wouldn't "necessarily and materially jeopardize" device safety.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://iamers.org/2024/07/fda-issues-letter-supporting-continuation-of-dmca-exemption-for-repair-of-medical-devices/ |title=FDA issues letter supporting continuation of DMCA exemption for repair of medical devices |publisher=IAMERS |date=July 2024}}</ref>
*'''Jailbreaking''': Expanded to cover smartphones, smart TVs, voice assistants, and routers for installing alternative software.


Customers who refuse to pay the subscription lose access to:
These exemptions require that circumvention be a ''"necessary step"'' for the permitted purpose and cannot facilitate access to other copyrighted works.
*Mobile app functionality
*Automations and smart features
*Cloud-based controls
*Third-party integrations


The devices revert to basic manual operation only, making the smart home systems basically useless despite customers having paid for the hardware.
==Reverse Engineering in the European Union==


===Creating artificial dependence===
===Introduction and Overview===
European law tends to subjectively favor the ''Reverse Engineer'' (RE), including in situations such as "'''observe, study or test the functioning of the program''', provided that those acts '''do not infringe the copyright in the program'''"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=23 April 2009 |title=Directive 2009/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the legal protection of computer programs (Codified version) (Text with EEA relevance) |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2009/24/oj/eng |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250721222533/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2009/24/oj/eng |archive-date=2025-07-21}}</ref>, while going as far as "'''Decompilation for Interoperability'''"<ref name=":0" /> and "'''Decompilation for Error Correction and Repair'''"<ref name=":0" />. Strong emphasis is put on the intention and the desired outcome of the reverse engineering process.


Futurehome uses several technical mechanisms to enforce subscription dependence that go beyond legitimate security concerns:
While this is the general E.U. law, each country has it's own interpretation on it, the Directive being more of a guideline. For a safer approach, it is advised to carefully check the local legislation. Often times challenges come from the "legal speech" being difficult to understand by untrained personnel. [[wikipedia:Large_language_model|Large Language Models]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Large Language Model |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_language_model |url-status=live |website=Wikipedia}}</ref> (LLMs) could aid the legal research process, the bigger cloud-based LLMs often performing the best, double checking the information is mandatory.


*'''Cloud-only authentication''': The devices cannot authenticate locally, requiring internet connectivity and Futurehome's servers to function
===Guidelines for safer reverse engineering===
*'''Software locks''': Firmware prevents local control interfaces from operating without cloud verification
To better understand the position a RE would find themselves into, it is recommended to try and understand where the manufacturer is acting upon their product. We can briefly categorize the potential infringement on three levels:
*'''API restrictions''': Third-party integrations are disabled without active subscriptions
*'''Encrypted protocols''': Local communication uses proprietary encrypted protocols that prevent alternative software


These restrictions serve no consumer benefit and exist solely to maintain subscription revenue. The devices are physically capable of operating locally, as evidenced by their ability to function during the initial setup period before cloud connectivity is established.
*Hardware
*Software
*Hardware + Software


===The false "hacking" narrative===
Each one of these has it's own technical challenges and will most likely be treated differently in the court of law.


In response to customer complaints and reverse engineering efforts, Futurehome CEO Øyvind Fries told Norwegian media that unauthorized access to their software would be considered "illegal hacking" and could result in criminal prosecution.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tek.no/nyheter/nyhet/i/alMe04/rasende-kunder-opplever-smarthjem-utpressing |title=Rasende og fortvile Futurehome-kunder: – Oppleves som utpressing |website=Tek.no |language=norsk |access-date=2025-07-14}}</ref> This statement deliberately conflates:
====Full solutions====
The solutions are usually not complete, since the manufacturer sadly has most of the control over your product, whatever might it be. Almost complete solutions are a more likely term as most actions are rather ''reactive'' than ''proactive'' because the consumer will firstly be hit by the overreach and then react to it.


*'''Legitimate activity''': Customers analyzing their own devices to restore paid-for functionality
====Partial solutions====
*'''Illegal activity''': Unauthorized access to Futurehome's servers or networks


This mischaracterization exemplifies how companies weaponize DMCA 1201 and anti-hacking laws to prevent consumers from exercising ownership rights over products they have purchased.
===Legal precedents===


===The bounty controversy===
==Narrowing computer hacking laws==


The situation escalated when consumer rights activist Louis Rossmann offered a $5,000 bounty to anyone who could "crack the firmware" to make the devices work independently of Futurehome's subscription service.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tek.no/nyheter/nyhet/i/nP4d/lover-50000-kroner-for-aa-gjore-futurehome-gratis |title=Lover 50.000 kroner for å knekke kildekoden til Futurehome |website=Tek.no |language=norsk |access-date=2025-07-14}}</ref> Rossmann clarified that he wanted to see if anyone could circumvent the software restrictions that prevent customers from using devices they had purchased.
The Supreme Court's 2021 decision in '''Van Buren v. United States''' fundamentally changed how courts interpret the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act (CFAA).<ref>{{Cite web |title=VAN BUREN v. UNITED STATES CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT No. 19–783. Argued November 30, 2020—Decided June 3, 2021 |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-783_k53l.pdf}}</ref> The 6-3 majority adopted a "gates-up-or-down" test: you either have permission to access a computer system or you don't. Violating terms of service or using legitimately accessed data for improper purposes doesn't constitute ''"exceeding authorized access"'' under CFAA.


Futurehome's management characterized this as offering payment for "illegal hacking," despite the fact that:
This decision protects security researchers & reverse engineers who:
*Access publicly available systems
*Use credentials they were legitimately given
*Don't bypass technical access controls
*Violate only terms of service, not technical barriers


*Customers legally own the physical hardware
The Ninth Circuit applied this framework in '''hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn''' (2022), finding that scraping publicly accessible data doesn't violate CFAA since there are ''"no gates to lift or lower"'' on public websites.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HIQ LABS, INC. V. LINKEDIN CORPORATION, No. 17-16783 (9th Cir. 2022) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/17-16783/17-16783-2022-04-18.html}}</ref>
*The intent is to restore functionality customers had already paid for
*No unauthorized access to Futurehome's servers or networks would be involved
*The activity would constitute legitimate reverse engineering of owned devices


This represents a clear example of how companies mischaracterize legitimate consumer activities by using inflammatory "hacking" terminology to discourage people from exercising their ownership rights.
==Futurehome example==


===Why the "illegal hacking" claim is false===
In May 2025, Norwegian smart home company Futurehome was acquired out of bankruptcy. The new owners, FHSD Connect AS, introduced a mandatory subscription model: customers had to pay an annual fee of 1,188 NOK (approx. $117 USD) or lose access to basic functionality like the mobile app, automation, & local APIs - even though those features were previously included in the one-time purchase price.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tek.no/nyheter/nyhet/i/alMe04/rasende-kunder-opplever-smarthjem-utpressing |title=Rasende og fortvilte Futurehome-kunder: – Oppleves som utpressing |website=Tek.no |access-date=2025-07-14 |language=nb}}</ref>


Futurehome's characterization of reverse engineering efforts as "illegal hacking" is legally and factually incorrect:
When customers began exploring ways to restore lost functionality through reverse engineering, Futurehome CEO Øyvind Fries accused them of ''"illegal hacking"'' & threatened legal action.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tek.no/nyheter/nyhet/i/mPm4xl/lover-50000-kroner-for-aa-gjore-futurehome-gratis |title=Lover 50.000 kroner for å knekke programvaren til Futurehome |website=Tek.no |access-date=2025-07-14 |language=nb}}</ref>


'''What would actually be illegal:'''
However, no evidence was provided that users were:
*Breaking into Futurehome's corporate networks or servers
*Accessing Futurehome's servers without authorization
*Stealing proprietary code from Futurehome's systems
*Distributing proprietary code
*Using reverse engineering knowledge to attack third-party systems
*Compromising the privacy of others
*Distributing Futurehome's copyrighted software


'''What is legal reverse engineering:'''
Consumer rights advocate Louis Rossmann offered a $5,000 bounty for someone to create a way to use Futurehome devices locally without a subscription. His viewers began:
*Analyzing network traffic on your own local network
*Capturing network traffic from their own devices
*Examining firmware extracted from devices you own
*Analyzing firmware dumps from hubs they physically owned
*Creating alternative software to control your own hardware
*Attempting to restore functionality that had been removed post-sale
*Publishing information about how your devices work
The purpose was to restore functionality customers had already paid for. Futurehome's management tried to frame this as a bounty for criminal activity.


The key distinction is ownership and intent. Customers who reverse engineer devices they purchased to restore functionality they paid for are exercising legitimate ownership rights, not committing crimes.
==Other Examples with Legal Clarity==


==The broader pattern==
*'''John Deere Tractors''': Deere has long fought independent repair efforts, but under pressure from state laws & exemptions granted by the Library of Congress, some tractor repair activities (such as accessing diagnostic software) are now explicitly legal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.repair.org/stand-up-for-repair |title=Stand Up for Repair |publisher=Repair.org}}</ref> The FTC & state attorneys general sued John Deere in January 2025 for monopolizing agricultural equipment repair.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/01/15/nx-s1-5260895/john-deere-ftc-lawsuit-right-to-repair-tractors |title=FTC sues John Deere over farmers' right to repair tractors |publisher=NPR |date=January 15, 2025}}</ref>


Futurehome's tactics represent a widespread industry pattern of using technical restrictions and legal threats to maintain control over consumer devices.
*'''Sony PlayStation 3''' jailbreaking: Sony sued George Hotz (Geohot) after he jailbroke a PS3. While Sony sued him civilly, the case settled without establishing that his actions were criminal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony and Hotz settle hacking case |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-13047725}}</ref>


===Subscription conversion schemes===
*'''Lexmark Printers''': As mentioned above, the Sixth Circuit ruled that making third-party toner cartridges work with Lexmark printers - despite digital locks - was not illegal.<ref name="lexmark" />


Many technology companies have adopted similar strategies:
*'''United States v. Elcom/Sklyarov''' (2001-2002): Though Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested for creating Adobe eBook circumvention software, charges were dropped against him personally & his company ElcomSoft was acquitted, demonstrating prosecutorial overreach risks.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eff.org/cases/us-v-elcomsoft-sklyarov |title=US v. ElcomSoft & Sklyarov |publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation}}</ref>


*'''Smart home devices''' that lose functionality without cloud subscriptions
=="Illegal Hacking" as a legal conclusion==
*'''Automotive systems''' that require ongoing payments for features built into the hardware
*'''Medical devices''' that become unusable without service agreements
*'''Gaming hardware''' that is "bricked" when online services are discontinued


===Legal intimidation===
Using words like "hacking" to describe legitimate reverse engineering is not a legal conclusion. Section 1201 of the DMCA is written in a way that can make even normal ownership behavior sound suspicious. Courts have repeatedly ruled that '''reverse engineering, when done for lawful purposes, is protected'''.


Companies routinely threaten consumers and researchers with DMCA 1201 violations for activities that should be protected under ownership rights:
==Key legal principles==


*Analyzing firmware to understand device operation
Courts now apply clear principles distinguishing lawful reverse engineering from illegal hacking:
*Creating tools to enable local device control
 
*Developing alternatives
'''Protected activities include:'''
*Lawfully acquiring software or hardware
*Analyzing it without circumventing authentication
*Conducting interoperability research under DMCA Section 1201(f)
*Accessing publicly available information
*Good faith security research with responsible disclosure
 
'''Risk Factors for CFAA/DMCA Liability:'''
*Bypassing passwords or authentication systems
*Continuing access after explicit revocation
*Accessing non-public systems
*Causing system damage
*Commercial exploitation of circumvention tools
 
The distinction often turns on technical circumvention - courts protect analytical activities that don't breach access controls while penalizing those who bypass passwords, authentication, or security measures.
 
==Conclusion==
 
Reverse engineering should not be a crime. Owning a product should mean controlling it. Efforts to restore, understand, or interoperate with devices you legally bought is not "hacking" - it is a cornerstone of innovation, user freedom, and the right to repair.
 
The legal landscape has evolved dramatically through decisions like '''Google v. Oracle''' (2021) affirming API reimplementation as fair use<ref>{{Cite web |title=GOOGLE LLC v. ORACLE AMERICA, INC. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT No. 18–956. Argued October 7, 2020—Decided April 5, 2021 |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/18-956_d18f.pdf}}</ref>.
 
The October 2024 DMCA exemptions represent the largest repair rights expansion so far. Combined with Van Buren's limitation of CFAA liability, these create lots of legal space for legitimate reverse engineering to be considered legal.
 
==References==
<references />
<references />
[[Category:Common terms]]

Latest revision as of 02:50, 4 September 2025

❗Article Status Notice: Inappropriate Tone/Word Usage

This article needs additional work to meet the wiki's Content Guidelines and be in line with our Mission Statement for comprehensive coverage of consumer protection issues. Specifically it uses wording throughout that is non-compliant with the Editorial guidelines of this wiki.

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This article addresses the widespread, harmful misconception that breaking a digital lock or modifying software behavior is always "illegal hacking". In truth, U.S. law, while flawed, draws a clear line between lawful reverse engineering & criminal activity.

Companies often exploit this confusion to suppress ownership rights, discourage commonplace repair, and interrupt interoperability under the guise of protecting security or intellectual property. The following information will clarify legal distinctions, correct the narrative, and explain why reverse engineering your own device to restore or preserve its functionality is not, and should never be deemed, a crime.

In this article, "hack" or "illegal hacking" is used interchangeably for illegally hacking, or "to get into someone else's computer system without permission in order to do something illegal" (Hack | Cambridge Dictionary). This should not be confused with the slang "hack" that describe the act of tinkering or modifying a device (like "a hackable laptop").

References to U.S. and E.U. (European Union) law can be found, alongside practical examples and hypotheticals to further understand where the line between legal and illegal activity resides.

What section 1201 is for[edit | edit source]

Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), passed in 1998, prohibits the circumvention of "technological protection measures" (TPMs) used to control access to copyrighted works. It also prohibits the distribution of tools designed primarily for circumvention.

What makes Section 1201 controversial is that it penalizes circumvention regardless of whether any copyright infringement occurred. In other words, even if you just want to modify or fix a product you legally own, you may still be in "violation" if the manufacturer practices overreach with DRM.

To soften this universal approach of limiting consumer rights, Congress allowed for temporary exemptions to be reviewed every three years by the Library of Congress. These exemptions currently include limited instances of repair, diagnosis, security research, accessibility, and jailbreaking of phones. However, the process is cumbersome, narrow in scope, and inconsistently applied.

Legal reverse engineering vs. illegal Hacking[edit | edit source]

Contrary to what some CEOs & PR departments have said, reverse engineering is legal in many contexts - especially when done for purposes of interoperability, repair, research, or personal use.

What counts as legal reverse engineering[edit | edit source]

The U.S. legal system has repeatedly upheld the right to reverse engineer in certain contexts, particularly when the intent is to enable interoperability or understand how something works. Notable court decisions include:

  • Sega Enterprises Ltd. v. Accolade, Inc. (1992): The Ninth Circuit ruled that disassembling code to understand how to make compatible software was fair use.[1]
  • Sony Computer Entertainment v. Connectix Corp. (2000): The court affirmed that reverse engineering to create a competing product (a PlayStation emulator) was legal & transformative, and that making intermediate copies of a copyrighted bios for use in software development constitutes fair use .[2]
  • Lexmark Int'l v. Static Control Components (2004): The Sixth Circuit ruled that Static Control could reverse engineer printer firmware to enable third-party toner cartridges. The court pointed out that interoperability trumped DMCA anti-circumvention claims.[3]
  • Chamberlain Group v. Skylink Technologies (2004): The Federal Circuit held that creating universal garage door remotes through reverse engineering was legitimate, establishing that DMCA violations must connect to actual copyright infringement.[4]
  • DSC Communications v. DGI Technologies (1995): Courts held that disassembling firmware to create compatible microprocessor cards constituted fair use, establishing that functional elements accessed only through disassembly can be lawfully copied.[5]
  • Assessment Technologies v. WIREdata (2003): The Seventh Circuit ruled that reverse engineering to access public domain data trapped within copyrighted software is permissible, preventing copyright from creating "locks" on non-copyrightable information.[6]

Legal reverse engineering generally includes:

  • Analyzing software you own for repair or maintenance
  • Studying protocols to make devices work with third-party tools
  • Extracting firmware from your own hardware
  • Building alternate apps that communicate with your devices
  • Publishing technical findings that don't contain copyrighted code
  • Good faith security research under DMCA exemptions

What constitutes illegal hacking[edit | edit source]

Illegal hacking, by contrast, involves:

  • Accessing remote systems without authorization
  • Bypassing login or authentication mechanisms on someone else's network
  • Stealing or distributing copyrighted code without a license
  • Tampering with systems in ways that compromise others' data or services
  • Continuing access after explicit revocation (see Facebook v. Power Ventures, 2016)[7]

The key difference is ownership & scope: Reverse engineering stays within the boundary of what you own. Hacking crosses into systems that you don't.

Hacking, in most cases, involves doing reverse engineering. Companies usually use this to mislead ill-informed people into believing both are illegal hacking. Reverse engineering alone is not hacking.

Current DMCA exemptions (2024-2027)[edit | edit source]

The Library of Congress granted sweeping new exemptions in October 2024 that greatly expanded repair rights:[8]

  • Vehicle telematics data: Owners can now circumvent software locks to access, store, and share their vehicle's operations and diagnostic data.
  • Commercial food preparation equipment: New exemption for retail-level restaurant equipment repair (addressing the McDonald's ice cream machine problem).[9]
  • Consumer devices: Renewed exemptions for smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, and IoT devices.
  • Medical devices: Continued exemption with FDA support, concluding that, contrary to claims otherwise, it wouldn't "necessarily and materially jeopardize" device safety.[10]
  • Jailbreaking: Expanded to cover smartphones, smart TVs, voice assistants, and routers for installing alternative software.

These exemptions require that circumvention be a "necessary step" for the permitted purpose and cannot facilitate access to other copyrighted works.

Reverse Engineering in the European Union[edit | edit source]

Introduction and Overview[edit | edit source]

European law tends to subjectively favor the Reverse Engineer (RE), including in situations such as "observe, study or test the functioning of the program, provided that those acts do not infringe the copyright in the program"[11], while going as far as "Decompilation for Interoperability"[11] and "Decompilation for Error Correction and Repair"[11]. Strong emphasis is put on the intention and the desired outcome of the reverse engineering process.

While this is the general E.U. law, each country has it's own interpretation on it, the Directive being more of a guideline. For a safer approach, it is advised to carefully check the local legislation. Often times challenges come from the "legal speech" being difficult to understand by untrained personnel. Large Language Models[12] (LLMs) could aid the legal research process, the bigger cloud-based LLMs often performing the best, double checking the information is mandatory.

Guidelines for safer reverse engineering[edit | edit source]

To better understand the position a RE would find themselves into, it is recommended to try and understand where the manufacturer is acting upon their product. We can briefly categorize the potential infringement on three levels:

  • Hardware
  • Software
  • Hardware + Software

Each one of these has it's own technical challenges and will most likely be treated differently in the court of law.

Full solutions[edit | edit source]

The solutions are usually not complete, since the manufacturer sadly has most of the control over your product, whatever might it be. Almost complete solutions are a more likely term as most actions are rather reactive than proactive because the consumer will firstly be hit by the overreach and then react to it.

Partial solutions[edit | edit source]

Legal precedents[edit | edit source]

Narrowing computer hacking laws[edit | edit source]

The Supreme Court's 2021 decision in Van Buren v. United States fundamentally changed how courts interpret the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act (CFAA).[13] The 6-3 majority adopted a "gates-up-or-down" test: you either have permission to access a computer system or you don't. Violating terms of service or using legitimately accessed data for improper purposes doesn't constitute "exceeding authorized access" under CFAA.

This decision protects security researchers & reverse engineers who:

  • Access publicly available systems
  • Use credentials they were legitimately given
  • Don't bypass technical access controls
  • Violate only terms of service, not technical barriers

The Ninth Circuit applied this framework in hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn (2022), finding that scraping publicly accessible data doesn't violate CFAA since there are "no gates to lift or lower" on public websites.[14]

Futurehome example[edit | edit source]

In May 2025, Norwegian smart home company Futurehome was acquired out of bankruptcy. The new owners, FHSD Connect AS, introduced a mandatory subscription model: customers had to pay an annual fee of 1,188 NOK (approx. $117 USD) or lose access to basic functionality like the mobile app, automation, & local APIs - even though those features were previously included in the one-time purchase price.[15]

When customers began exploring ways to restore lost functionality through reverse engineering, Futurehome CEO Øyvind Fries accused them of "illegal hacking" & threatened legal action.[16]

However, no evidence was provided that users were:

  • Accessing Futurehome's servers without authorization
  • Distributing proprietary code
  • Compromising the privacy of others

Consumer rights advocate Louis Rossmann offered a $5,000 bounty for someone to create a way to use Futurehome devices locally without a subscription. His viewers began:

  • Capturing network traffic from their own devices
  • Analyzing firmware dumps from hubs they physically owned
  • Attempting to restore functionality that had been removed post-sale

The purpose was to restore functionality customers had already paid for. Futurehome's management tried to frame this as a bounty for criminal activity.

Other Examples with Legal Clarity[edit | edit source]

  • John Deere Tractors: Deere has long fought independent repair efforts, but under pressure from state laws & exemptions granted by the Library of Congress, some tractor repair activities (such as accessing diagnostic software) are now explicitly legal.[17] The FTC & state attorneys general sued John Deere in January 2025 for monopolizing agricultural equipment repair.[18]
  • Sony PlayStation 3 jailbreaking: Sony sued George Hotz (Geohot) after he jailbroke a PS3. While Sony sued him civilly, the case settled without establishing that his actions were criminal.[19]
  • Lexmark Printers: As mentioned above, the Sixth Circuit ruled that making third-party toner cartridges work with Lexmark printers - despite digital locks - was not illegal.[3]
  • United States v. Elcom/Sklyarov (2001-2002): Though Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested for creating Adobe eBook circumvention software, charges were dropped against him personally & his company ElcomSoft was acquitted, demonstrating prosecutorial overreach risks.[20]

"Illegal Hacking" as a legal conclusion[edit | edit source]

Using words like "hacking" to describe legitimate reverse engineering is not a legal conclusion. Section 1201 of the DMCA is written in a way that can make even normal ownership behavior sound suspicious. Courts have repeatedly ruled that reverse engineering, when done for lawful purposes, is protected.

Key legal principles[edit | edit source]

Courts now apply clear principles distinguishing lawful reverse engineering from illegal hacking:

Protected activities include:

  • Lawfully acquiring software or hardware
  • Analyzing it without circumventing authentication
  • Conducting interoperability research under DMCA Section 1201(f)
  • Accessing publicly available information
  • Good faith security research with responsible disclosure

Risk Factors for CFAA/DMCA Liability:

  • Bypassing passwords or authentication systems
  • Continuing access after explicit revocation
  • Accessing non-public systems
  • Causing system damage
  • Commercial exploitation of circumvention tools

The distinction often turns on technical circumvention - courts protect analytical activities that don't breach access controls while penalizing those who bypass passwords, authentication, or security measures.

Conclusion[edit | edit source]

Reverse engineering should not be a crime. Owning a product should mean controlling it. Efforts to restore, understand, or interoperate with devices you legally bought is not "hacking" - it is a cornerstone of innovation, user freedom, and the right to repair.

The legal landscape has evolved dramatically through decisions like Google v. Oracle (2021) affirming API reimplementation as fair use[21].

The October 2024 DMCA exemptions represent the largest repair rights expansion so far. Combined with Van Buren's limitation of CFAA liability, these create lots of legal space for legitimate reverse engineering to be considered legal.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Sega Enters. Ltd. v. Accolade, Inc., 977 F.2d 1510 (9th Cir. 1992)" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "Sony Computer Entm't, Inc. v. Connectix Corp., 203 F.3d 596 (9th Cir. 2000)" (PDF).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexmark_International,_Inc._v._Static_Control_Components,_Inc.
  4. ↑ "The CHAMBERLAIN GROUP, INC., Plaintiff–Appellant, v. SKYLINK TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Defendant–Appellee. No. 04–1118. United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit" (PDF).
  5. ↑ "DSC Communications Corp. v. DGI Technologies, Inc., 898 F. Supp. 1183 (N.D. Tex. 1995)".
  6. ↑ "Assessment Technologies of Wi, Llc, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Wiredata, Inc., Defendant-appellant, 350 F.3d 640 (7th Cir. 2003)".
  7. ↑ "FACEBOOK, INC., a Delaware corporation, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. POWER VENTURES, INC., DBA Power.com, a California corporation; POWER VENTURES, INC., a Cayman Island corporation, Defendants, and STEVEN SURAJ VACHANI, an individual, Defendant-Appellant" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies". Federal Register. October 28, 2024.
  9. ↑ Bowman, Emma (November 3, 2024). "A new copyright rule lets McDonald's fix its own broken ice cream machines". NPR.
  10. ↑ "FDA issues letter supporting continuation of DMCA exemption for repair of medical devices". IAMERS. July 2024.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Directive 2009/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the legal protection of computer programs (Codified version) (Text with EEA relevance)". 23 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2025-07-21.
  12. ↑ "Large Language Model". Wikipedia.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ↑ "VAN BUREN v. UNITED STATES CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT No. 19–783. Argued November 30, 2020—Decided June 3, 2021" (PDF).
  14. ↑ "HIQ LABS, INC. V. LINKEDIN CORPORATION, No. 17-16783 (9th Cir. 2022)".
  15. ↑ "Rasende og fortvilte Futurehome-kunder: – Oppleves som utpressing". Tek.no (in norsk bokmål). Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  16. ↑ "Lover 50.000 kroner for å knekke programvaren til Futurehome". Tek.no (in norsk bokmål). Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  17. ↑ "Stand Up for Repair". Repair.org.
  18. ↑ "FTC sues John Deere over farmers' right to repair tractors". NPR. January 15, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Sony and Hotz settle hacking case".
  20. ↑ "US v. ElcomSoft & Sklyarov". Electronic Frontier Foundation.
  21. ↑ "GOOGLE LLC v. ORACLE AMERICA, INC. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT No. 18–956. Argued October 7, 2020—Decided April 5, 2021" (PDF).
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