GM trying to keep you from modding your vehicle

Ductape wrote:
Yawn... just buy your modified software from the aftermarket software vendor and install it. Replacing the original code. GM may own the code they sell you, but they can't prevent competitors from selling code...

There's a problem with that. They're are trying to get DMCA rules to apply to their products. The DMCA has a provision in it which criminalizes any act that defeats or circumvents locks that are implemented to restrict access to copyrighted material. To load custom code, you would first have to defeat the lock the manufacturers have placed on their modules.

Cell phone manufactures and providers were successful at getting these rules applied to themselves. Before 2012, jailbreaking or rooting a phone was essentially illegal since you had to defeat the manufacturer's lock first. Lawmakers heard the outrage and passed a law which basically granted DMCA exemptions for phones.