REVscene Automotive Forum - Automobile makers are sort of saying you don't really own your car

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Automobile makers are sort of saying you don't really own your car

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/0...y-own-your-car

Quote:

EFF is fighting for vehicle owners’ rights to inspect the code that runs their vehicles and to repair and modify their vehicles, or have a mechanic of their choice do the work. At the moment, the anti-circumvention prohibition in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act arguably restricts vehicle inspection, repair, and modification. If EFF is successful then vehicle owners will be free to inspect and tinker, as long as they don’t run afoul of other regulations, such as those governing vehicle emissions, safety, or copyright law.

You can support EFF's exemption requests by adding your name to the petition we'll submit in the rulemaking.

Most of the automakers operating in the US filed opposition comments through trade associations, along with a couple of other vehicle manufacturers. They warn that owners with the freedom to inspect and modify code will be capable of violating a wide range of laws and harming themselves and others. They say you shouldn’t be allowed to repair your own car because you might not do it right. They say you shouldn’t be allowed to modify the code in your car because you might defraud a used car purchaser by changing the mileage. They say no one should be allowed to even look at the code without the manufacturer’s permission because letting the public learn how cars work could help malicious hackers, “third-party software developers” (the horror!), and competitors.

John Deere even argued that letting people modify car computer systems will result in them pirating music through the on-board entertainment system, which would be one of the more convoluted ways to copy media (and the exemption process doesn’t authorize copyright infringement, anyway).

The parade of horribles makes it clear that it is an extraordinary stretch to apply the DMCA to the code that runs vehicles. The vast majority of manufacturers' concerns have absolutely nothing to do with copyright law. And, as the automakers repeatedly point out, vehicles are subject to regulation by other government agencies with subject matter expertise, which issue rules about what vehicles are and are not lawful to operate on public roadways.

The DMCA essentially blundered into this space and called all tinkering and code inspection into question, even acts that are otherwise lawful like repairing your car, making it work better at high altitude, inspecting the code to find security and safety issues, or even souping it up for use in races on a private course. We’re presenting the Copyright Office with the opportunity to undo this collateral damage and leave regulating auto safety to specialized agencies, who understandably have not seen fit to issue a blanket prohibition against vehicle owners’ doing their own repairs and safety research.

Here’s how you can help. The opponents of the vehicle exemptions say that no one really cares about the restrictions they place on access to vehicle code, so the Copyright Office should deny the exemptions. Now, we cited a number of projects, and thousands of people wrote to the office to support the exemptions, but we are confident there are even more projects, businesses, and individuals out there who need these exemptions and it would be a shame if the Copyright Office didn’t know it.

If you have had problems with vehicle repair or tinkering because you were locked out of your vehicle’s computers, if you would have engaged in a vehicle-related project but didn’t because of the legal risk posed by the DMCA, or if you or your mechanic had to deal with obstacles in getting access to diagnostic information, then we want to hear from you—and the Copyright Office should hear from you, too.

Dangonay? Are you there?

The code in the ECU and other computerized units is technically the manufacturers intellectual property. But like any electronic system people can break it down: sometimes for malicious reasons, sometimes for curiosity and harmless tinkering.

There is a sub culture of ecu dis-assembly within the automotive tuning world. What started off as scripters and programmers who are also car enthusiasts sharing information for the community's benefit has turned into small one man operations - selling remote tuning services. But these people are profiting off the backs of those who put in the hard work to disassemble the ECU's for the benefit of disseminating knowledge throughout the community and helping DIY'er skip a trip to the dealer/mechanic.

They disassemble the code and often use xml to create definition files to point their open source programs to read the binary. The side effect is now anyone that has a $200 cable can read/write the ecu on cars. While some (like myself) do this for tuning it can also be used to change things like the immobilizer, force pass emissions and a myriad of other things.

That said, it's a two way street, people like to have power over what they believe is their own property, but I can also appreciate where the companies are coming from. But like the internet you can't control it...technology evolves with culture. It's an open market and as long as people "want to find a way to ______" you'll always have hacking be it an iPhone or a Car.

Recently I saw two US based tuners arguing on a forum over the IP of a Mitsubishi's Evo ACD ecu rom, saying "we had this first...you can't sell it to customers." yada yada yada...when in fact the Manufacturer technically owns that IP and should be payed royalties if 3rd parties are profiting.

From what I understand repairs on John Deere tractors cost a lot and you have to take to a authorized service centre take time away from farming. Farmers want to be able to fix it themselves on site but can't because of the ECU.

As much as I support DIY, I don't think any Joe Schmo should be able to dick around in the programming of a car. Pulling codes for repairs, sure, but anything beyond that should be locked out.

As a side note whoever wrote this article sounds like a bit of a twat.

People have been dicking around with a car's programming since cars were invented. Except back then all you needed was a screwdriver.

As far as I'm concerned, I paid my money and it's mine to do whatever the hell I want with.
If I want to crank the boost until the motor explodes I should be able to do that, just void the warranty.