4 ms·

Emulators are legal. The courts have already determined this. The only thing that is illegal is when emulator projects start distributing other companies mark

by stale2002 3y ago

Emulators are legal. The courts have already determined this. The only thing that is illegal is when emulator projects start distributing other companies marketing materials/IP or similar.

lxgr 3y ago
The courts are still determining this, and it's an evolving topic, as evidenced by Nintendo's recent actions against a Switch emulator [1]. In particular, DRM circumvention technology is explicitly illegal to distribute in at least the US and EU, in a way that goes beyond regular copyright law. (The DMCA in the US has some exceptions specifically for video game archival purposes, though.) Older games usually didn't have DRM in that sense; the concern back then was bootleg game copies, or unauthorized games [2], which the original consoles tried to detect and reject using "inverse DRM" techniques (i.e. the console authenticating the game, not the other way around). But newer games and consoles do explicitly feature DRM that might well be considered covered under the DMCA. I don't think anyone can make qualified predictions on whether courts will find them legal at this point. [1] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/05/the-solid-legal-theory-behind-nintendos-new-emulator-takedown-effort/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/05/the-solid-legal-theor... [2] Nintendo and Sega tried to tackle that problem using trademark law, but were ultimately unsuccessful: https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/11736/why-is-the-unchangable-nintendo-game-boy-logo-in-the-cartridge https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/11736/why...
- stale2002 3y ago
  > evidenced by Nintendo's recent actions against a Switch emulator The counter argument to this misinterpretation of the case is addressed in the first sentence of your linked article. "Dolphin's included decryption key is key to Nintendo's DMCA arguments." So the point stands. There are absolutely ways to do emulation that is legal.
  - lxgr 3y ago
    > There are absolutely ways to do emulation that is legal. That I don't doubt at all. I'm just not sure all emulation is legal considering the DMCA.

Emulators are legal. The courts have already determined this. The only thing that is illegal is when emulator projects start distributing other companies marketing materials/IP or similar.

lxgr 3y ago

The courts are still determining this, and it's an evolving topic, as evidenced by Nintendo's recent actions against a Switch emulator [1]. In particular, DRM circumvention technology is explicitly illegal to distribute in at least the US and EU, in a way that goes beyond regular copyright law. (The DMCA in the US has some exceptions specifically for video game archival purposes, though.) Older games usually didn't have DRM in that sense; the concern back then was bootleg game copies, or unauthorized games [2], which the original consoles tried to detect and reject using "inverse DRM" techniques (i.e. the console authenticating the game, not the other way around). But newer games and consoles do explicitly feature DRM that might well be considered covered under the DMCA. I don't think anyone can make qualified predictions on whether courts will find them legal at this point. [1] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/05/the-solid-legal-theory-behind-nintendos-new-emulator-takedown-effort/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/05/the-solid-legal-theor... [2] Nintendo and Sega tried to tackle that problem using trademark law, but were ultimately unsuccessful: https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/11736/why-is-the-unchangable-nintendo-game-boy-logo-in-the-cartridge https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/11736/why...

stale2002 3y ago
> evidenced by Nintendo's recent actions against a Switch emulator The counter argument to this misinterpretation of the case is addressed in the first sentence of your linked article. "Dolphin's included decryption key is key to Nintendo's DMCA arguments." So the point stands. There are absolutely ways to do emulation that is legal.
- lxgr 3y ago
  > There are absolutely ways to do emulation that is legal. That I don't doubt at all. I'm just not sure all emulation is legal considering the DMCA.