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This is one of the few places where the USA has a sensible solution. In 2015, my org (Themade.org) worked with Archive.org, MIT, the EFF, and Harvard Law to obt

This is one of the few places where the USA has a sensible solution. In 2015, my org (Themade.org) worked with Archive.org, MIT, the EFF, and Harvard Law to obtain a DMCA 1201 exemption for legal DRM circumvention for the case of single player games where online validation servers have ceased operations. Thanks to the hard work of these organizations, the US market, at least, allows for those who purchased these games to continue to play them with a third party patch to their client. See below: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/11/new-dmca-ss1201-exemption-video-games-closer-look https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/11/new-dmca-ss1201-exempt...

Bratmon 1y ago
That exception expired in 2024 and was not renewed. https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/legally-weird/u-s-copyright-office-presses-pause-on-dmca-exemption-for-video-games/ https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/legally-weird/u-s-copyrig... Please do not spread misinformation like this.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- VonGuard 1y ago
  You are talking about the attempted exception in 2024. The 2015 exemption expires every 2 years and has to be renewed and to my knowledge it was renewed during this last effort, as it had been every 2 years since it was granted. The article you linked has nothing to do with the 2015 exemption. It only has to do with a proposed exemption that was not given in 2024.
xela79 1y ago
> continue to play them with a third party patch to their client so hoping that a third party patch can fix the issue. hoping it does. sounds like a very hopeless "legal" workaround
- VonGuard 1y ago
  Happens ALL the time. Players even figure out how to emulate MMO servers by sniffing network traffic. When people want to play the game, they will find a way.
  - xela79 1y ago
    I'm not saying it does not "happen ALL the time", but this proposed EU law would make that job easier for the third party solutions, instead of "hoping" for one.
mxfh 1y ago
Quite a few EU national libraries have legal desposits of cultural works extended to video games. It's not that far fetched for them to expect that their copies should be working. For ephemeral GaaS the libraries could require a video of a reference playthrough for any new game mode, if they don't want to leave it all inconsistent and spotty twitch and letplay youtube coverage. Requiring GaaS Server binaries to made public is a bridge too far here to me, if the game is kept running with a minimum of two years after announcing EOL and shutting down purchases in shops after that. It should be encouraged, but mandatory? Playability is not everything if the experience is not reproducable to begin with.

Bratmon 1y ago

That exception expired in 2024 and was not renewed. https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/legally-weird/u-s-copyright-office-presses-pause-on-dmca-exemption-for-video-games/ https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/legally-weird/u-s-copyrig... Please do not spread misinformation like this.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
VonGuard 1y ago
You are talking about the attempted exception in 2024. The 2015 exemption expires every 2 years and has to be renewed and to my knowledge it was renewed during this last effort, as it had been every 2 years since it was granted. The article you linked has nothing to do with the 2015 exemption. It only has to do with a proposed exemption that was not given in 2024.

xela79 1y ago

> continue to play them with a third party patch to their client so hoping that a third party patch can fix the issue. hoping it does. sounds like a very hopeless "legal" workaround

VonGuard 1y ago
Happens ALL the time. Players even figure out how to emulate MMO servers by sniffing network traffic. When people want to play the game, they will find a way.
- xela79 1y ago
  I'm not saying it does not "happen ALL the time", but this proposed EU law would make that job easier for the third party solutions, instead of "hoping" for one.

mxfh 1y ago

Quite a few EU national libraries have legal desposits of cultural works extended to video games. It's not that far fetched for them to expect that their copies should be working. For ephemeral GaaS the libraries could require a video of a reference playthrough for any new game mode, if they don't want to leave it all inconsistent and spotty twitch and letplay youtube coverage. Requiring GaaS Server binaries to made public is a bridge too far here to me, if the game is kept running with a minimum of two years after announcing EOL and shutting down purchases in shops after that. It should be encouraged, but mandatory? Playability is not everything if the experience is not reproducable to begin with.