In the United States, for comparison, I think the situation as it is widely accepted (but has not been tested so far) is that it is: - Legal for a user to unlock a phone for use in a conflicting network (This is explicit) - Not necessarily lawful to create or sell unlocking software (the law is quiet about this topic, but DMCA - not necessarily (and somewhat less likely) legal to create or sell software. Mechanisms to prevent changes bypassing the phone in other ways (eg, the truth in the matter is that it unlikely that your iPhone will be in trouble for as long as you do it for your own personal benefit.) You must not remember in the network interest to let you go and be a customer of other networks so that they will sometimes make it harder and more expensive, ever after the network, the cost of unlocking. Unfortunately, such a policy has a crossover to these long-term worthy customers who pay their bulls on time and actually have one legitimate user code to unlock the mobile phone for personal use and after return, is still a paying mobile customer. But these areas are definitely gray, unlike the situation with Napster and Limewire, where what is done does not fulfill the spirit or letter of the law in any imaginable way. Buy Unlocked Windows Phone 8. DMCA is a frequent reference bill in 1998, which while worsening certain online laws and digital copyright and specified as giving certain exceptions. We were all there - The phone is connected to a network and you want it on another use, or maybe just unlocked to increase second hand value. So you can get a T-Mobile or Metro PC phone at ATT or Cricket Wireless, AT Prepaid, and other GSM networks in the US after his unlocked when blocked or poorly financed on the original carrier network. I think carriers can expect a consistent exclusivity policy for transactions that have been treated to keep what the scorpion does not stechen.Image Credit: Gavel and books about Shutterstock, Iain Wanless on Flickr, Zach Zupancic on Flickr, Danny Choo on Flickr, Lars Plowman on Flickr, Daniel J.