WASHINGTON, July 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. Library of Congress said Monday it's OK for Apple iPhone owners to use software that doesn't have the company's stamp of approval.

The library, which has the authority to determine exceptions to copyright law through its U.S. Copyright Office, ruled it is legal to bypass a phone's controls to run legally obtained programs, customizing called "jailbreaking," The New York Times reported.

The exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act had been sought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit digital rights group, the Times said. Apple has contended it has the right to control what software is used on an iPhone.

InformationWeek reported the exemption removes the threat of a lawsuit against those who modify their iPhones, perhaps affecting more than a million owners.

Apple was not immediately available for comment.

Computerworld reported the Copyright Office's Marybeth Peters ruled modifications "made purely for the purpose of such interoperability are fair uses."

Peters said running unapproved applications has no adverse effect on Apple's copyright interests.

"Rather, Apple's objections relate to its interests as a manufacturer and distributor of a device, the iPhone," she said, adding jailbreaking is "innocuous at worst and beneficial at best."