New third party firmware (Not HP'PRIME TEAM)

[Claudio L.]

(12-30-2015 03:08 PM)DrD Wrote:  I know that legalities are the first victims to fall, and to be clear, I'm just a sidewalk citizen here, not attempting to police anything.

You seem to have the idea that there's something illegal in replacing the firmware, as implied by your mentions of legality and the use of the word "devious" = dishonest.
Replacing the firmware is no different from buying a Windows laptop and installing Linux, or buying a car and replacing the rims with sporty ones, or buying a house with 2 bedrooms, but use one of them as an office instead. In all these examples, you are not using the device as intended by the manufacturer, but there's nothing dishonest or illegal about it.
On the case in point, you own the device, and have a license to use the provided software on it. Using the device with other software (under a different license) does not constitute any violation. However, using their software outside the original device may be a violation of the license.
Taking the existing firmware and modifying it does violate the license, so it's illegal, but that's not what is being suggested here.