• Engadget, Tuesday, May 11, 2010 1:26 PM

Confirming unverified reports over the terms of the iPhone's carrier contract, Engadget has unearthed documents detailing a five-year exclusivity deal signed in 2007 by Apple and AT&T. According to the tech blog: "An ongoing California class-action lawsuit filed in 2007 claims that Apple and AT&T illegally exerted a monopoly over iPhone service by telling customers the iPhone's required service contract was two years long when the Apple / AT&T exclusivity deal was actually for five years."

Forced to argue that no one was ever promised an unlocked iPhone after two years, Apple's lawyers repeatedly confirm the existence of a five-year agreement, while noting it was publicly reported in USA Today, according to the documents obtained by Engadget. The real question, which the blog fails to answer, is whether or not the exclusivity deal is still in effect as rumors of a forthcoming Verizon-supported iPhone continue to circulate.

Read the whole story at Engadget »