German court confirms ADSL router is a computer like any other

The Regional Court of Berlin ruled last Tuesday that ADSL modems are PCs, and their owners can exploit them as they like. That includes installing software on it, says Cybits, a software maker selling applications to make Internet connections at home and at school safe for children.

The company has been fighting in court since 2010, battling with AVM, manufacturer of ADSL devices such as the Fritz!Box, popular with many Europeans. AVM wants Cybits to stop modifying the Linux-based firmware that is shipped with these Fritz!Boxen. In January this year, the court preliminary agreed with AVM.

"We have not yet seen the ruling, but we have heard from our lawyer that most of AVM's claims were thrown out", says Stefan Pattberg, Cybits' CEO, contacted by phone. "The most important argument for us, is that the court decides that the Fritz!Box is a real computer. We may develop software for it, that owners may install and use."

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