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'''This page will try and document some notable incidents regarding the legal status of emulation. Nothing in this page should be considered legal advice.''' | '''This page will try and document some notable incidents regarding the legal status of emulation. Nothing in this page should be considered legal advice.''' | ||
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− | The legality of using encryption keys for emulators or accessing personal video collections is a debated topic. These keys, typically generated by random number algorithms, are not subject to copyright protection unlike creative content. In the realm of DVDs, Blu-rays, and HD DVDs, the question arises: should using open-source software to decode, watch, or back up your legally acquired video collection be restricted due to these non-copyrightable encryption keys? | + | The legality of using encryption keys for emulators or accessing personal video collections is a debated topic. These keys, typically generated by random number algorithms, are not subject to copyright protection unlike creative content. In the realm of DVDs, Blu-rays, and HD DVDs, the question arises: should using open-source software to decode, watch, or back up your legally acquired video collection be restricted due to these non-copyrightable encryption keys? See [[#Not directly about emulation]] for the home media and home video realm. |
There are even political parties, such as the [[Wikipedia:Pirate Party UK|Pirate Party UK]], whose core policies focus on reforming copyright and patent laws[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1bbn3bw/defending_emulation_rights_and_challenging/], supporting privacy, reducing government and business surveillance, and championing freedom of speech and expression. | There are even political parties, such as the [[Wikipedia:Pirate Party UK|Pirate Party UK]], whose core policies focus on reforming copyright and patent laws[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1bbn3bw/defending_emulation_rights_and_challenging/], supporting privacy, reducing government and business surveillance, and championing freedom of speech and expression. | ||
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==Notable Legal Incidents== | ==Notable Legal Incidents== | ||
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:'''Action:''' Lawsuit against the for-profit LLC that manages Yuzu and its Patreon | :'''Action:''' Lawsuit against the for-profit LLC that manages Yuzu and its Patreon | ||
:'''Reason:''' Emulation and personal backups itself (mentioned in passing), Encouraging and engaging in piracy of unreleased leaked games and prominently profiting off it, Yuzu not including AES keys but using them to load encrypted game images, using Nintendo imagery to promote their patreon. Comparisons presenting the emulator as the better alternative. Included guides for unlocking the protection of Switch hardware on the emulator website. | :'''Reason:''' Emulation and personal backups itself (mentioned in passing), Encouraging and engaging in piracy of unreleased leaked games and prominently profiting off it, Yuzu not including AES keys but using them to load encrypted game images, using Nintendo imagery to promote their patreon. Comparisons presenting the emulator as the better alternative. Included guides for unlocking the protection of Switch hardware on the emulator website. | ||
− | :'''Outcome:''' Settlement. Both Citra (also under the same team and LLC) and Yuzu's online presence and development is discontinued. Tropic Haze was ordered to pay Nintendo $2.4m, retire from developing Yuzu or assisting Citra with development, issue statements denouncing emulation (in public) and claiming any emulation that deals with AES keys is illegal, and submit personal Switch hardware | + | :'''Outcome:''' Settlement. Both Citra (also under the same team and LLC) and Yuzu's online presence and development is discontinued. Tropic Haze was ordered to pay Nintendo $2.4m, retire from developing Yuzu or assisting Citra with development, issue statements denouncing emulation (in public) and claiming any emulation that deals with AES keys is illegal, and submit personal Switch hardware. |
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====Pressured==== | ====Pressured==== | ||
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;2023 - Yuzu (Switch) / various Youtube channels vs. Nintendo | ;2023 - Yuzu (Switch) / various Youtube channels vs. Nintendo | ||
− | :'''Action:''' Copyright take-down notices against videos promoting emulation of the Nintendo Switch for the following cases: Kotaku (game journalists) encouraging people to pirate leaked copies of Metroid Dread and Zelda Tears of the Kingdom after Nintendo denied them review copies ( | + | :'''Action:''' Copyright take-down notices against videos promoting emulation of the Nintendo Switch for the following cases: Kotaku (game journalists) encouraging people to pirate leaked copies of Metroid Dread and Zelda Tears of the Kingdom after Nintendo denied them review copies (NoA took down the very video used in the article), Multiplayer mod for Zelda Breath of the Wild promoted on the Youtube channel of the mod author, and others. |
:'''Reason:''' Generic copyrighted audiovisual content DMCA justification (Game footage) | :'''Reason:''' Generic copyrighted audiovisual content DMCA justification (Game footage) | ||
:'''Outcome:''' No further retaliation from Nintendo against either Yuzu or the YouTube channels. Zelda Multiplayer mod shut down the project pre-emptively to avoid further trouble. | :'''Outcome:''' No further retaliation from Nintendo against either Yuzu or the YouTube channels. Zelda Multiplayer mod shut down the project pre-emptively to avoid further trouble. | ||
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Sega later collaborated with a huge number of fan emulation developers for their countless retro collections, both from Japan and elsewhere. Albeit some exclusive content was later on tampered with to prevent its compatibility with third-party emulators, to limit piracy and unauthorized resellers. Ex-Sega of Japan developers also worked on fan emulators. A lot of developer interviews by Sega developers discuss common emulation topics like input delay and CRT shaders and screen scales. | Sega later collaborated with a huge number of fan emulation developers for their countless retro collections, both from Japan and elsewhere. Albeit some exclusive content was later on tampered with to prevent its compatibility with third-party emulators, to limit piracy and unauthorized resellers. Ex-Sega of Japan developers also worked on fan emulators. A lot of developer interviews by Sega developers discuss common emulation topics like input delay and CRT shaders and screen scales. | ||
− | == | + | ===Apple=== |
− | + | Quite infamously, Apple hires anyone behind a promising iPhone emulator or compatibility layer, and it almost always gets shut down and scrubbed off the face of the Internet. Apple used to have a really strict rule about emulators not being allowed on the App Store, however, there have been some recent developments suggesting a relaxation of this policy[https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/apple-now-allows-retro-game-emulators-on-its-app-store-but-with-big-caveats/]. | |
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+ | ===Taito Corporation=== | ||
+ | In 2024, a DMCA takedown notice from Taito Corporation, targeting content on [[TeknoParrot]] servers.[https://twitter.com/TeknoParrotEmu/status/1775925817559732444] | ||
− | == | + | ==Not directly about emulation== |
− | + | Dumping tools, copying home media and home video content, media player softwares with optical discs encryption and copy protection techniques and codec situations since all of them are somewhat related to emulation, either directly or indirectly. Copyright infringement and attempts to remove infringing content through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) have been ongoing issues in the [[Home_Media_Player|home media and home video]] (especially VCR), [[Ripping_games|dumping tools]] (Lockpick_RCM taken down by Nintendo DMCA), [[Home_Media_Player#Media_player_software|media player softwares with optical discs encryption and copy protection techniques, codec situations]] (HD-DVD and Blu-Ray disc support etc.) | |
===Atari=== | ===Atari=== | ||
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:*The court's definition of fair use remains influential in software copyright cases today. '''Fair use''': Compatible products can exist without infringing upon copyrighted material, as long as they meet the criteria of fair use. | :*The court's definition of fair use remains influential in software copyright cases today. '''Fair use''': Compatible products can exist without infringing upon copyrighted material, as long as they meet the criteria of fair use. | ||
:*Although not directly related to emulation, this case set a precedent that indirectly affects emulation by clarifying the legal boundaries of software compatibility and copyright protection, which are relevant to the creation and distribution of emulators. | :*Although not directly related to emulation, this case set a precedent that indirectly affects emulation by clarifying the legal boundaries of software compatibility and copyright protection, which are relevant to the creation and distribution of emulators. | ||
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===Amazon=== | ===Amazon=== | ||
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:'''Reason:''' Violation of California consumer laws by allowing customers to purchase electronic media content at a higher fee than rented content, when the purchased content might become unavailable to the consumer at a later date. | :'''Reason:''' Violation of California consumer laws by allowing customers to purchase electronic media content at a higher fee than rented content, when the purchased content might become unavailable to the consumer at a later date. | ||
:'''Outcome:''' The court grants defendant's motion to dismiss. | :'''Outcome:''' The court grants defendant's motion to dismiss. | ||
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===Sony=== | ===Sony=== | ||
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:*The concept of "fair use" was not directly addressed in this case, but the Court's emphasis on non-infringing uses laid the groundwork for future fair use arguments related to new technologies. | :*The concept of "fair use" was not directly addressed in this case, but the Court's emphasis on non-infringing uses laid the groundwork for future fair use arguments related to new technologies. | ||
:*While not directly about emulation, this case set a precedent regarding the potential liability of technology companies for the actions of their users, which has indirect implications for emulation and the legal discussion around emulators and copyright infringement. | :*While not directly about emulation, this case set a precedent regarding the potential liability of technology companies for the actions of their users, which has indirect implications for emulation and the legal discussion around emulators and copyright infringement. | ||
− | :See also [ | + | :*See also [https://youtu.be/-VqsU1VK3mU Technology Connections: Macrovision - The Copy Protection in VHS]. |
===Nintendo=== | ===Nintendo=== | ||
− | + | Various [[Game engine recreations and source ports]] projects taken down by Nintendo recently. | |
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− | *A total of 379 fan-made games have been removed from gaming website and hosting service Game Jolt after Nintendo of America issued a mass DMCA takedown.[https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/01/nintendo_issues_mass_dmca_takedown_379_fan-made_games_forcibly_removed] | + | *Link's Awakening DX HD: A complete remake written in C# of the original 2D GBC game that was uploaded by an anonymous user to itch.io. It featured widescreen support and the ability to scale the map, making it possible to view the entire map (with moving sprites) on one screen. It was online for roughly 4 days before it was inevitable taken down for including copyrighted assets, however the source code was included with the game and it has since been re-uploaded to various place. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmYgEqsds_M |
− | + | *Portal 64: Original project taken down due to Nintendo's tools used for building the game for Nintendo 64, new one (Portal 64: Still Alive) aiming to remove the requirement on proprietary code. | |
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− | + | A total of 379 fan-made games have been removed from gaming website and hosting service Game Jolt after Nintendo of America issued a mass DMCA takedown.[https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/01/nintendo_issues_mass_dmca_takedown_379_fan-made_games_forcibly_removed] | |
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− | + | Lots of ROM sites taken down by Nintendo. Funny thing is they allegedly downloaded and sold a rom back to customers.[https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-01-18-did-nintendo-download-a-mario-rom-and-sell-it-back-to-us] | |
===Rockstar=== | ===Rockstar=== | ||
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===Microsoft=== | ===Microsoft=== | ||
− | + | :'''2017''' - Microsoft bans game emulators from the Windows Store.[https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/6/15204138/microsoft-bans-game-emulators-from-the-windows-store] | |
− | + | :'''2023''' - Microsoft cracked down on a loophole in the Xbox Store that allowed emulators to be downloaded and used on Xbox consoles to play older games, including many unavailable on Xbox consoles[https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-addresses-xbox-emulator-ban-says-its-based-on-long-standing-policy] and also bans gamers using Retail Mode Emulators on Xbox.[https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-banning-people-using-emulators-xbox] | |
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==Avoiding== | ==Avoiding== | ||
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*[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/rtlceo/mame_is_officially_dropping_support_for_akai/ MAME is officially dropping support for Akai Katana and Dodonpachi Saidaioujou after C&D from Exa Arcadia] | *[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/rtlceo/mame_is_officially_dropping_support_for_akai/ MAME is officially dropping support for Akai Katana and Dodonpachi Saidaioujou after C&D from Exa Arcadia] | ||
*[[yuzu]] removes Raptor Network support and shut down the server as well[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/jndzdf/yuzu_removes_raptor_online_support/]. One of the potential reason was Nintendo is quite aggressive with C&D's, especially when it's something that is a '''current product of theirs''', so it was no surprise. See [[Nintendo Switch Online#Emulation of the service]] and [[Preservation projects#Private Platform Servers]]. | *[[yuzu]] removes Raptor Network support and shut down the server as well[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/jndzdf/yuzu_removes_raptor_online_support/]. One of the potential reason was Nintendo is quite aggressive with C&D's, especially when it's something that is a '''current product of theirs''', so it was no surprise. See [[Nintendo Switch Online#Emulation of the service]] and [[Preservation projects#Private Platform Servers]]. | ||
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==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*[[Licensing]] | *[[Licensing]] | ||
*[[History of emulation]] | *[[History of emulation]] | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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*[https://aftermath.site/pokemon-lawyer-cease-desist-fan-project-pikachu-movie Aftermath - What I Do: Pokémon’s Former Chief Lawyer On Shutting Down Fan Games & Honeymoon Business Deals] | *[https://aftermath.site/pokemon-lawyer-cease-desist-fan-project-pikachu-movie Aftermath - What I Do: Pokémon’s Former Chief Lawyer On Shutting Down Fan Games & Honeymoon Business Deals] | ||
*[[Wikipedia:Right_to_repair|Wikipedia - Right to repair]] | *[[Wikipedia:Right_to_repair|Wikipedia - Right to repair]] | ||
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[[Category:FAQs]] | [[Category:FAQs]] |