4 ms·

If someone did this in the US, can they get in trouble? When exactly does "hacking" a game become illegal? What about people doing it for research like the mac

by rawnlq 10y ago

If someone did this in the US, can they get in trouble? When exactly does "hacking" a game become illegal? What about people doing it for research like the machine learning mario guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv6UVOQ0F44 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv6UVOQ0F44. Or tool-assisted speedruns? Or the starcraft broodwar ai? Is it only when you breach the TOS or copyrights? Just curious since it never even occurred to me that such things are punishable.

Aelius 10y ago
At least in the US, I don't believe there is any precedent that establishes it is illegal to alter a product. There is always push back by companies, but it seems that the general trend is always in favor of the consumer (see, rooting your phone is found legal, this video concerning the legality of modifying cars and tractors https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nps24EqiZjY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nps24EqiZjY )
6nf 10y ago
It might fall under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act? The DMCA criminalises the act of circumventing an access control mechanism.
AntiRush 10y ago
There are multiple cases in the United States regarding game hacks. Some of the more famous involve Blizzard, with the biggest example being a suit against the creators of WowGlider, a bot for World of Warcraft (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDY_Industries,_LLC_v._Blizzard_Entertainment,_Inc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDY_Industries,_LLC_v._Blizzar...)
- jessespears 10y ago
  Fascinating: The Court of Appeals ruled that for a software licensee's violation of a contract to constitute copyright infringement, there must be a nexus between the license condition and the licensor’s exclusive rights of copyright. However ... that a finding of circumvention under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act does not require a nexus between circumvention and actual copyright infringement. The DMCA's anti-circumvention section appears to be the only thing that preserved parts of the original finding. Perhaps the next time this law is up for review, some less onerous terms can be placed for reverse engineering for the purpose of interoperability.
wyldfire 10y ago
> If someone did this in the US, can they get in trouble? No, not really.* > What about people doing it for research § 1201 has lots of exceptions including "Nonprofit library, archive and educational institution exception (section 1201(d))." * Yes, technically the laws here in the US are broad enough that if you did something that the US DOJ or local LE became very concerned about, they could at the very least arrest, detain, and charge you with a crime if not convict you of it.

by rawnlq 10y ago

Aelius 10y ago

At least in the US, I don't believe there is any precedent that establishes it is illegal to alter a product. There is always push back by companies, but it seems that the general trend is always in favor of the consumer (see, rooting your phone is found legal, this video concerning the legality of modifying cars and tractors https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nps24EqiZjY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nps24EqiZjY )

6nf 10y ago

It might fall under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act? The DMCA criminalises the act of circumventing an access control mechanism.

AntiRush 10y ago

There are multiple cases in the United States regarding game hacks. Some of the more famous involve Blizzard, with the biggest example being a suit against the creators of WowGlider, a bot for World of Warcraft (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDY_Industries,_LLC_v._Blizzard_Entertainment,_Inc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDY_Industries,_LLC_v._Blizzar...)

jessespears 10y ago
Fascinating: The Court of Appeals ruled that for a software licensee's violation of a contract to constitute copyright infringement, there must be a nexus between the license condition and the licensor’s exclusive rights of copyright. However ... that a finding of circumvention under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act does not require a nexus between circumvention and actual copyright infringement. The DMCA's anti-circumvention section appears to be the only thing that preserved parts of the original finding. Perhaps the next time this law is up for review, some less onerous terms can be placed for reverse engineering for the purpose of interoperability.

wyldfire 10y ago

> If someone did this in the US, can they get in trouble? No, not really.* > What about people doing it for research § 1201 has lots of exceptions including "Nonprofit library, archive and educational institution exception (section 1201(d))." * Yes, technically the laws here in the US are broad enough that if you did something that the US DOJ or local LE became very concerned about, they could at the very least arrest, detain, and charge you with a crime if not convict you of it.