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That depends on the country. In Australia, there is an explicit carve-out in the Copyright Act to allow for backups of computer programs[1], and there is also a

by cyphar 8mo ago

That depends on the country. In Australia, there is an explicit carve-out in the Copyright Act to allow for backups of computer programs[1], and there is also a widely held belief (at least, according to the government) that backups of this kind in general are also considered fair use[2]. Actually, it seems there is a somewhat similar carve-out in the US as well[3]. [1]: https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca1968133/s47c.html https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/cons... [2]: https://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/copyright-and-the-digital-economy-alrc-report-122/17-computer-programs-and-back-ups/back-ups-and-fair-use/ https://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/copyright-and-the-digita... [3]: https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#117 https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#117

charcircuit 8mo ago
>there is an explicit carve-out in the Copyright Act to allow for backups of computer programs But there is not a carve out for breaking DRM to do so. It's not the backup part that is the problem with dumping them. It's that these games are encrypted and decrypting them requires breaking the DRM scheme which is illegal.
- cyphar 8mo ago
  There is a separate carve-out for breaking DRM for the purposes of "interoperability"[1], which (as far as I understand) is generally believed to include emulators. I also disagree more broadly with the initial moral indignation over a perceived violation of copyright law -- legality and morality are two different things, copyright law is meant to be a balanced trade-off between the public and creators but modern copyright laws are a travesty. What ever happened to the hacker ethos behind DeCSS and the anti-"illegal numbers" movement? [1]: https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca1968133/s116an.html https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/cons...
  - charcircuit 8mo ago
    >will be done for the sole purpose of achieving interoperability It's for solely achieving interoperability. It only covers the development of the emulator. Using it to get a picture for explaining what a game is in the blog post is not DRM being broken for solely achieving interoperability. >What ever happened to the hacker ethos behind DeCSS and the anti-"illegal numbers" movement? In practice the idea that you can't break laws if you are doing things via a computer is fundamentally flawed.

by cyphar 8mo ago

charcircuit 8mo ago

>there is an explicit carve-out in the Copyright Act to allow for backups of computer programs But there is not a carve out for breaking DRM to do so. It's not the backup part that is the problem with dumping them. It's that these games are encrypted and decrypting them requires breaking the DRM scheme which is illegal.

cyphar 8mo ago
There is a separate carve-out for breaking DRM for the purposes of "interoperability"[1], which (as far as I understand) is generally believed to include emulators. I also disagree more broadly with the initial moral indignation over a perceived violation of copyright law -- legality and morality are two different things, copyright law is meant to be a balanced trade-off between the public and creators but modern copyright laws are a travesty. What ever happened to the hacker ethos behind DeCSS and the anti-"illegal numbers" movement? [1]: https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca1968133/s116an.html https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/cons...
- charcircuit 8mo ago
  >will be done for the sole purpose of achieving interoperability It's for solely achieving interoperability. It only covers the development of the emulator. Using it to get a picture for explaining what a game is in the blog post is not DRM being broken for solely achieving interoperability. >What ever happened to the hacker ethos behind DeCSS and the anti-"illegal numbers" movement? In practice the idea that you can't break laws if you are doing things via a computer is fundamentally flawed.