According to Auto News, one federal agency has now provided a definitive answer, which will make tinkerers and tuners happy -- if the decision doesn't get upended by federal law, that is.

HOW WE GOT HERE

For as long as there have been cars, people have been customizing them. Some tweaks have been cosmetic (e.g. bumper stickers, fuzzy dice,questionable paint choices), others have been more substantial (e.g. upgrades to headlights, suspensions, and engines). But one place that shade-tree mechanics haven't been allowed to poke their noses is in the code powering the onboard computers that control most modern vehicles.

Then, something important happened. Earlier this year, the Library of Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office began considering whether automotive software was protected by copyright law.

General Motors, John Deere, and other equipment manufacturers insist that code falls under the protection of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. They argue that the DMCA already protects videogames, music files, and e-books, so the same standard should be applied to other digital content -- namely, their software.