GM, Ford, And Others Exploiting DMCA to Make Working on Your Own Car Illegal!

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vreihen

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You can't make this stuff up...

http://news.boldride.com/2015/04/gm-wants-to-make-working-on-your-own-car-illegal/76702/

GM, Ford, And Others Want to Make Working on Your Own Car Illegal

Boldride
Jeff Perez
April 22, 2015

One of the inherent rights of owning a vehicle is the ability to get on one’s backside — a wrench in one hand and a grease rag in the other, and just tinker to your little heart’s desire. Since the vehicle was invented, it’s been an important facet within the community of gearheads.

General Motors — the same company responsible for 87 deaths related to faulty ignition switches, FYI — wants to take that right away from you citing safety and security issues. Along with a few other big names.

It’s called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). It’s been around since 2000 and started as anti-Internet piracy legislation. But automakers want to use it to try and make working on your own car illegal. Yes, illegal. The general premise is that unlike cars of the past, today’s vehicles are so advanced and use such a large amount of software and coding in their general makeup, altering said code could be dangerous and possibly even malicious.

Listing the vehicle as a “mobile computing device,” the law would hypothetically protect automakers from pesky owners looking to alter any sort of technology in the vehicle that relates to the onboard computer. Flashing your ECU would be a big no no, which could also lead to all sorts of problems for aftermarket shops.

What GM, and even tractor companies like John Deere, argues is that you, as an owner, don’t actually own your car. Rather, you’re sort of just borrowing it for an extended amount of time and paying for the rights to use the technology. If it sounds ridiculous— it is. But it gets even more ludicrous.

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, John Deere argued that “letting people modify car computer systems will result in them pirating music through the on-board entertainment system.”

That’s right— pirating music. Through a tractor.

DMCA does give a little bit of leeway, though. While the act could hypothetically lock customers out of key safety features, it would still allow owners the ability to repair other areas of the vehicle’s onboard computer as they see fit. It’s a slim compromise, but one that may be more closely based in reality.

As it currently sits, there are 13 (!) large automakers on the list supporting the DMCA. Want to know who they are? Of course you do:

General Motors Company
BMW Group
FCA US LLC
Ford Motor Company
Jaguar Land Rover
Mazda
Mercedes-Benz USA
Mitsubishi Motors
Porsche
Toyota
Volkswagen Group of America
Volvo Cars North America

Ironically, one of the brands that relies most on technology in its vehicles — Tesla Motors — in not in support of DMCA. While other American companies like GM, Ford and Chrysler all agree that working on your own vehicle should be punishable by law.

Funny how three brands that pride themselves on American ingenuity don’t want customers to work on their cars.
 
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roth

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I wonder what's in it for them. Obviously such a law will make those cars less attractive. I can understand big 3 but Toyota (?), was thinking it was doing OK.

BR, Andy
 
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NZDubNurd

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I work in our Hospitals Clinical Engineering Department. We maintain service and repair around US$25M of equipment, in a regional population of 160,000 spread over 4 hospitals. The critical stuff is VERY specific about what you can and cannot do, and the testing is so thorough, that life-threatening failures are VERY, VERY, VERY rare. In the event of a life-threatening failure, there is a backup system or process.

If the cars are not allowed to be worked on by ourselves, I hope they're as well tested, regulated, backed-up and expensive as medical stuff. I sure won't be buying one! They'd better have DAMN good backup, so if something goes wrong, it's fixed at least as fast as I can on the roadside.

Besides - I wouldn't trust my Touran (or BMW, Ford, or Beetle) to the dealer either - I personally know 2 people with Golf TDI DSG's, that had trans failures - one in warranty, one JUST out. Both were told their transmissions weren't covered, as they hadn't been serviced at the required interval. The dealer told them this. The SAME dealer who serviced the cars, and didn't perform the DSG services..... They were covered in the end :D

I'm not convinced I'll buy anything much newer than our 2006 Touran. The amount of failures in modern cars is amazing.

There is a LOT to be said for the basics, and I have experience in BASIC, less basic and unbasic:


16498446363_5f88ea51fe.jpg
 
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DV52

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Man you guys up there live in an interesting country!!

If the fundamental paradigms of a buy-sell deal are to be reinterpreted and if you never really own a car that you purchased ( i.e. you only paid for the leasing rights for the intellectual property associated with the car's smarts), is there a reciprocal argument to be mounted regarding the purchase price? That is: the monies paid for the car is never really owned by the dealer - it is just loaned to the dealer for the period of the IP leasing arrangement, and it should be refunded to the purchaser when the IP leasing product is no longer required by the car owner?

Hmm..... strange times indeed!!
 
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Uwe

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I can't imagine this surviving a court challenge. Cellphone makers tried similar tactics and failed in the courts. If you own the hardware, you can do as you wish with it, including root/jailbreak it, flash some other software on it, or whatever.

-Uwe-
 
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Jef

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The more VW tries to lock out people, the worse they make it at the dealer level. Remember that smooth transition of removing information from VESIS and putting it into Guided Functions?
 
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roth

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The more VW tries to lock out people, the worse they make it at the dealer level. Remember that smooth transition of removing information from VESIS and putting it into Guided Functions?

Locking out people, pretty bad idea. Thing is they are not the only game in town, might backfire. People like choices, control of their belongings, pretty basic thing. Considering spotty VAG reliability record, planned obsolescence, this might be yet another turn off steering public into Japanese cars or maybe even Chinese (in the near future).

Andy
 
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roth

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I can't imagine this surviving a court challenge. Cellphone makers tried similar tactics and failed in the courts. If you own the hardware, you can do as you wish with it, including root/jailbreak it, flash some other software on it, or whatever.

-Uwe-

YEAH, Galaxy S5, rooted and flashed with custom ROM in a first week of ownership :D.

Andy
 
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vreihen

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Considering spotty VAG reliability record, planned obsolescence, this might be yet another turn off steering public into Japanese cars or maybe even Chinese (in the near future).

...or maybe even a startup American car manufacturer that gives away service information and firmware source code to attract the customers that are turned away from the locked-down vehicles and their shrink-wrapped EULA? :confused:

Regarding the insanity of this proposal, I'm sure there are lawyers salivating at the thought of filing lawsuits against the auto manufacturers because they are the actual owners of vehicles that are involved in accidents. I guess that also means that the manufacturer is responsible for recycling the vehicle at the end of it's life, cleaning up that fluid spill that polluted someone's well, and the cap-and-trade payments from all of the pollution belched from their entire fleet of vehicles?????
 
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Sebastian

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The keywords are "flash some other software" as well as "safety and liability".

Tuning/flashing ECM software, the "new" software is always based on an original one with (usually) nothing but modified maps. So that modification of sb. else's work can IMO be looked at as a copyright violation. Now if tuners would actually write ALL the ECM software, from scratch or base their work on an open source solution (like it's done with Android ROMs) this becomes a different scenario.

As for safety and liability, does anyone here actually think some 3rd party can come up with an as well tested and thought through ESP or Airbag software which is then not just generic enough to be installed in all controllers out there but also all vehicle models and possible crash scenarios? :)
 
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Uwe

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Tuning/flashing ECM software, the "new" software is always based on an original one with (usually) nothing but modified maps.
Right, but car manufacturer granted the owner of the car an implicit license to USE that software when he bought the car. So if the car's owner wishes to modify that software himself, strictly for his own purposes, I don't see how that runs afoul of copyright. Now if a tuner makes and SELLS modified copies, I could see where that might be problematic.

Anyway, I don't think this will fly, at least not in the US.

-Uwe-
 
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Sebastian

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Point taken, what about current models which need valid signatures so one can even flash a new file? here that could be considered breaking/circumventing copy protection mechanism and would therefor be punishable.
 
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roth

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Point taken, what about current models which need valid signatures so one can even flash a new file? here that could be considered breaking/circumventing copy protection mechanism and would therefor be punishable.

Since when doing anything to your property is considered breaking/circumventing? What if I bought a car and want to do just that because it is my hobby? Did I sign any statement during the purchase stating I cannot do that?

BR, Andy.
 
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Jef

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Because locking things up always works.

09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0
 
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Jack@European_Parts

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The keywords are "flash some other software" as well as "safety and liability".

Tuning/flashing ECM software, the "new" software is always based on an original one with (usually) nothing but modified maps. So that modification of sb. else's work can IMO be looked at as a copyright violation. Now if tuners would actually write ALL the ECM software, from scratch or base their work on an open source solution (like it's done with Android ROMs) this becomes a different scenario.

As for safety and liability, does anyone here actually think some 3rd party can come up with an as well tested and thought through ESP or Airbag software which is then not just generic enough to be installed in all controllers out there but also all vehicle models and possible crash scenarios?



I believe that is a poor interpretation Sebastian.

The original can be taken and modified/changed legally.........as long as not an exact copy being used, and credit is given to the original creator.
It is usually a good idea to get permission, however, I have not seen a case where an OEM has litigated this for a modification of work.
If anyone had rights claims it would be the author of origin, however, he would have to prove the infringement use.

It is the tuner now that has modified said copyright can not claim a copyright going forward, because he is not the original creator of the writing.
Courts usually based on history, don't allow for a ruling in the request when trying to make such a claim.
However, you see in tunings that they have copyrighted it......or patented a process.


Now what would be really interesting is..........
The OEM reporting to a governing agency requesting enforcement of the manipulation of emissions monitors, and pursuing the tuner for intentional SMOG device defeats to circumvent a SMOG test.
Then suing the tuner for damages if incurred prompting a warranty which was granted, because of deceptive tactics to only make the OEM believe they were responsible.
IE Flash counter resets or claiming software doesn't void a warranty of power train.
IE Offering to flash a controller to stock to purport/facilitate as conduit to assist in the fraud.

Big difference changing maps, and than changing the diagnostic areas to delete a mandatory emissions device or OBD2 codes...... while in fact using the OBD2 port to do so..........and on a hard plated car for the street as an advertisement.
" Just drive to our dealer and get flashed and drive home." Now that implies deception and clearly promotes the use of said illegal SMOG manipulated products on the public road.

I have been noticing a change where tuners are not signing their name as much or adding such a rat out to their door for accreditation.:p
 
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jyoung8607

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Right, but car manufacturer granted the owner of the car an implicit license to USE that software when he bought the car. So if the car's owner wishes to modify that software himself, strictly for his own purposes, I don't see how that runs afoul of copyright.
It doesn't fall afoul of the original copyright laws. You're not really copying it, except in the hair-splitting sense of having a duplicate on your computer while you're tuning. You're modifying it. It's no different from making notes or highlighting in a paper textbook. However, as part of the DMCA, there's a new prohibition against circumventing an access control mechanism. So long as there's any form of access control or lock involved, even if it uses the same combination an idiot would use on his luggage, breaking that protection is now a separate offense under the DMCA. All they have to do is put a trivial speed-bump, and extracting firmware is now illegal.

Now if a tuner makes and SELLS modified copies, I could see where that might be problematic.
Agreed, but they could work around the true copyright aspect by selling just the changes in a binary-diff type of format.

Anyway, I don't think this will fly, at least not in the US.
Pigs can fly given sufficient thrust. There are a lot of auto manufacturers strapping JATO bottles to this pig. It's likely to work, until they piss off someone with enough lawyers to stop it.

Jason
 
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mikeme

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So what you are suggesting is clarification of the rights included with the purchase of the car.
 
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Jack@European_Parts

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It doesn't fall afoul of the original copyright laws. You're not really copying it, except in the hair-splitting sense of having a duplicate on your computer while you're tuning. You're modifying it. It's no different from making notes or highlighting in a paper textbook. However, as part of the DMCA, there's a new prohibition against circumventing an access control mechanism. So long as there's any form of access control or lock involved, even if it uses the same combination an idiot would use on his luggage, breaking that protection is now a separate offense under the DMCA. All they have to do is put a trivial speed-bump, and extracting firmware is now illegal.


I can give you five different reasons they can shut up when coming to my place to uphold that.



Ecu's do have access control mechanisms, that's for sure!
 
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Jack@European_Parts

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Well the EPA and the DMV DOT NTSB agencies have already failed to enforce this going on 20 years.
They have not adequately gone after the tuners for the deletes and readiness byte circumventions.
It has in fact affected the auto repair economy's and created an underground market, as bad as the war on drugs inverted.
I want shops to get together and class action sue the government agencies for loss of sales due to things like this being properly enforced.

Want to mod your car for track fine...
Want to do it for the street...... then it must pass a rated SMOG/TUV with a certification they can tax.

The guys doing the dirty stuff should be hung.

WTF good is VCDS when every fucking thing is deleted and tests turned off?
I will tell you what it is......... a VCDS auto lie detector!
 
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