Just to clarify (these things I know for certain pretty much);

1) Unlocking an iPhone is seen as a breach of the terms and conditions between AT&T, Apple and the consumer i.e. you. This is seen as illegal, as long as you use the phone it is seen that you have agreed to the terms and conditions.

If you think about the economics of it, you will see why Apple/AT&T are pursuing legal action.

You are buying a subsidized (read:discounted) phone.....a phone that is discounted, so that you will subscribe to a voice/data plan arranged by Apple and AT&T. This voice/data plan is where AT&T and Apple made their money back, and all of us who hacks and cracked and unlocked our iPhones are not contributing towards that. Therefore Apple is selling iPhones to us now at a loss , although how much loss that is , remain to be seen, and they are hoping to recover that loss from the percentage cut they receive from every iPhone user that has subscribed to AT&T (AT &T pays them a certain percentage from the voice/data plan payment each new iPhone user does when subscribing to AT&T).

So, when you sell something at a loss, and then hoping to recover from subscription, but people dont subscribe to that subscription, your business ends up in a loss, wouldnt it? Wouldnt you pursue legal action if someone do this to you?