Even factory engines can be helped with a little extra tuning, but can tinkering with your factory engine land you in jail?

An interesting question was proposed by Automotive IT News recently when the publication asked “Are You Breaking Copyright Law When You Work on Your Car?” The article’s author, Nicole Wakelin, presented this thought provoking question, then supported the headline by presenting the legal basis for breaking copyright laws in vehicles computers.

Wakelin points out that routine maintenance is a common practice performed by many automotive enthusiasts everyday. Hot rodders looking to soup up their modern computer controlled cars might be in for an awaking according to Wakelin. Quoting the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which was passed and signed into law in 1998, the author also hints that any “alterations” to the codes in the ECU computers in private vehicles may be in violation of the DMCA.

Tuning devices can be found everywhere these days, especially online. Photo from www/ebay.com

Wakelin’s assumption that the laws were never intended to target “hobbyists” are probably true, however… the codes written by the manufacturing company are considered proprietary by the company with many of these manufacturers going to extreme lengths in trying to prevent anyone from breaking their code.

There are a number of aftermarket companies that specialize in creating devices that alter factory codes for higher performance by replacing or making changes to the factory supplied ECU codes. These company’s work hard to deconstruct the factory ECU codes and re-construct these codes with changes to the systems that include fuel flow rate, air/fuel ratio, rpm shift points and other performance enhancing controls.

According to the article’s author, a group that protects the rights of consumers called the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is trying to have the law changed so that it excludes enthusiasts that makes performance changes to their own cars.  “Once every three years the Copyright Office holds hearings on the DMCA and a ruling on the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s case is expected next year,” explained Wakelin.

Is ECU tuning a violation of copyright laws? Photo from www.viezutuning.com

We are left wondering if this change will include the aftermarket companies that design products that change ECU codes for better performance, or will the enthusiasts be left to their own devices. Wakelin astutely observed that the automakers could choose to offer custom upgrades for some cars – for a price – before they leave the dealer’s lot. This is an interesting proposal considering that a factory warranty would still be offered with the upgrade. Currently, any changes to the ECU codes could make the factory warranty invalid.

We will continue to monitor the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s case with great interest and present any future findings to our loyal readers. Hang tight, we all might end up being outlaws the next time we tinker with the ECU code in our latest project cars.