The Library of Congress has announced exemptions to the (in)famous Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that allow iPhone, iPod touch and iPad owners to legally jailbreak their devices.

• The Library of Congress Statement
• USA Today: Library of Congress authorizes a jailbreak for iPhone and cell phone users
• Yahoo News: New gov’t rules allow unapproved iPhone apps
• ars technica: Apple loses big in DRM ruling: jailbreaks are “fair use”
• It’s legal to jailbreak iPhone, but it voids warranty

Other exemptions involving fair use of DVD content, video games and hardware “dongles” are also included. Understand that while this means it is legally permissible to jailbreak one of your devices that does not mean that Apple has to condone or support it. In other words, don’t expect your warranty to survive your jailbreak efforts.