10 ms·

How is this defined as breaking copyright law? Did the cheat contain code from the original game?

Aelius 10y ago
It probably has something to do with the tampering of copy protection, which companies would very much like to be illegal. An arrest does not equate to a conviction; there's a chance the charges may not stick, but I don't know Japanese law.
- glandium 10y ago
  While an arrest doesn't equate to prosecution, in Japan, prosecution almost equates conviction (somewhere around 99.9%).
  - visarga 10y ago
    DA's have a reputation to keep.
    - nness 10y ago
      District Attorneys?
  - labster 10y ago
    Well, closer to 99.7%[1]. But many less charges are filed, per capita, than the United States. This is partially due to things like honor and culture, but more to do with the fact that Japanese prosecutors have double the caseload of their American counterparts. And perhaps even more to do with the use of judges to decide verdicts.
    - pessimizer 10y ago
      It's also a false contrast. 97% of prosecutions in the US are resolved by plea bargain.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
jhanschoo 10y ago
IANAL, but I wonder if there is a case to be made that the cheat is a derivative work of the game.
- nness 10y ago
  Its hard to say, but I would imagine that you agree to a license to play the game, and that license would disallow derivative works.
smitherfield 10y ago
Speculatively, I think the reasons here are threefold: 1. Japan has the world's oldest population, which means there's a pretty high level of unfamiliarity with and suspicion of many modern technologies. Fax machines remain more popular than email, for example. 2. Video games are a much larger and more mainstream part of Japanese culture than they are in America, and consequently they're seen as "serious business" to a much greater degree than they are here. It could be that hacking a game in order to cheat is viewed similarly to how we'd view cheating at gambling or professional sports. (Especially if the game is played competitively, and/or the cheat is intended to get around in-app purchases). 3. Very, very strong cultural emphasis on honesty and following the rules. Japan is consistently, by a wide margin, the world's most honest and law-abiding country, and those who aren't are viewed quite harshly. Like all things, this can be taken to extremes.
- Zelmor 10y ago
  >the world's most honest and law-abiding country Based on the experience of female friends: don't believe everything you hear about Japan. If you are a gaijin being mugged or harrassed by Japanese men, even police will question your word when describing the villain. They will honestly ask if you have "not just seen him wrong, because Japanese people don't do such things. Must have been a foreigner." Also, witnesses reject to help, look away and mind their own business. Sometimes not even moving away on a train, just sitting there while a woman gets harrassed, mugged or raped. These women do not always report such crimes due to the shame of something like this happening to them, and other people not even helping. The logic goes so that they themselves must have deserved it, since noone came to their aid. For more, see schoolgirl gangs beating and raping single bullied targets in public places like restaurants. People just sit and look away. Some take videos and pictures to post online. In court, the judges do not question the legitimacy of police findings and accusations, so if the police presents evidence that would accuse of you wrongly but which is half-assed or plain wrong, judges take those evidences at face value. The onus is on you to prove thee two biased parties wrong. Don't believe Japanese stereotypes without a couple years spent in a big city there.
  - smitherfield 10y ago

It probably has something to do with the tampering of copy protection, which companies would very much like to be illegal. An arrest does not equate to a conviction; there's a chance the charges may not stick, but I don't know Japanese law.

glandium 10y ago
While an arrest doesn't equate to prosecution, in Japan, prosecution almost equates conviction (somewhere around 99.9%).
- visarga 10y ago
  DA's have a reputation to keep.
  - nness 10y ago
    District Attorneys?
- labster 10y ago
  Well, closer to 99.7%[1]. But many less charges are filed, per capita, than the United States. This is partially due to things like honor and culture, but more to do with the fact that Japanese prosecutors have double the caseload of their American counterparts. And perhaps even more to do with the use of judges to decide verdicts.
  - pessimizer 10y ago
    It's also a false contrast. 97% of prosecutions in the US are resolved by plea bargain.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

jhanschoo 10y ago

IANAL, but I wonder if there is a case to be made that the cheat is a derivative work of the game.

nness 10y ago
Its hard to say, but I would imagine that you agree to a license to play the game, and that license would disallow derivative works.

smitherfield 10y ago

Speculatively, I think the reasons here are threefold: 1. Japan has the world's oldest population, which means there's a pretty high level of unfamiliarity with and suspicion of many modern technologies. Fax machines remain more popular than email, for example. 2. Video games are a much larger and more mainstream part of Japanese culture than they are in America, and consequently they're seen as "serious business" to a much greater degree than they are here. It could be that hacking a game in order to cheat is viewed similarly to how we'd view cheating at gambling or professional sports. (Especially if the game is played competitively, and/or the cheat is intended to get around in-app purchases). 3. Very, very strong cultural emphasis on honesty and following the rules. Japan is consistently, by a wide margin, the world's most honest and law-abiding country, and those who aren't are viewed quite harshly. Like all things, this can be taken to extremes.

Zelmor 10y ago
>the world's most honest and law-abiding country Based on the experience of female friends: don't believe everything you hear about Japan. If you are a gaijin being mugged or harrassed by Japanese men, even police will question your word when describing the villain. They will honestly ask if you have "not just seen him wrong, because Japanese people don't do such things. Must have been a foreigner." Also, witnesses reject to help, look away and mind their own business. Sometimes not even moving away on a train, just sitting there while a woman gets harrassed, mugged or raped. These women do not always report such crimes due to the shame of something like this happening to them, and other people not even helping. The logic goes so that they themselves must have deserved it, since noone came to their aid. For more, see schoolgirl gangs beating and raping single bullied targets in public places like restaurants. People just sit and look away. Some take videos and pictures to post online. In court, the judges do not question the legitimacy of police findings and accusations, so if the police presents evidence that would accuse of you wrongly but which is half-assed or plain wrong, judges take those evidences at face value. The onus is on you to prove thee two biased parties wrong. Don't believe Japanese stereotypes without a couple years spent in a big city there.
- smitherfield 10y ago