Nintendo's disc base

[Yoyoman]

Can you show me proof? You don't have to do this. I just don't wanna get in trouble. If dumping copy-protected discs is illegal then why are you giving us all the info needed to dump games?

[ExtremeDude2]

It isn't illegal (depending on where you live I guess), giving them to other people on the other hand is.

[Yoyoman]

I live in America.

[Shonumi]

It's not illegal in the US, as long as you're making personal copies (rather than copies you intend to distribute to any random person online). It falls under Fair Use copyright exemptions. It's no different than ripping music CDs. There is the DMCA to worry about if the media in question needs "circumvention", but to this date, afaik, no ordinary gamer has ever been arrested, let alone sued by Nintendo for dumping their own games (maybe because even Nintendo knows the DMCA is a horrible "law"...)

At any rate, Nintendo, Sony, et al. are a different breed than the RIAA or the MPAA; they aren't looking for blood, especially not from the people that support them. And it's not like they have spies in your house, watching to make sure you don't use homebrew on your Wii or something. Unless you somehow managed to cost them vast amounts of money, they don't have the time to waste even thinking about you. Last time I checked, dumping my copy of SSBM from my Wii never subtracted a penny from Nintendo's bottom-line profits.

So, there's no need to be paranoid. Dumping is cool

[tueidj]

The DMCA has an interoperability clause which fits the purposes of (disc-based media) emulation almost perfectly.

[Shonumi]

(01-11-2015, 06:44 PM)tueidj Wrote: The DMCA has an interoperability clause which fits the purposes of (disc-based media) emulation almost perfectly.

Someone needs to tell Nintendo Forgot about that part under Reverse Engineering.

Despite what's clearly written into law, Nintendo still insists it's illegal. I know that's just their stance as a company, but I'd love to see a public exchange with them and a real IP lawyer (one who isn't a bought out shill, of course). They know they're totally wrong legally speaking, and it's time someone loudly called them out.

[Yoyoman]

Also does archival copies of a Wii/GC game mean playing it on Dolphin because that's what I found at the ESA website.

[tueidj]

(01-12-2015, 03:27 AM)Shonumi Wrote: Despite what's clearly written into law, Nintendo still insists it's illegal. I know that's just their stance as a company, but I'd love to see a public exchange with them and a real IP lawyer (one who isn't a bought out shill, of course). They know they're totally wrong legally speaking, and it's time someone loudly called them out.

I wouldn't say they're totally wrong, circumventing the protection is illegal for any reason apart from interoperability, such as "backups" etc.

[MayImilae]

Of course Nintendo also publicly says that all emulation is illegal, but if it was they'd have shut us down years ago. So what Nintendo says and reality aren't exactly the same thing.

[Shonumi]

(01-12-2015, 12:36 PM)tueidj Wrote: I wouldn't say they're totally wrong, circumventing the protection is illegal for any reason apart from interoperability, such as "backups" etc.

Except they pretty much (from what I've seen) say it's illegal no matter what. I get that they can't possibly account for all of the various nuances in local law in only one page, but the way they word their corporate stance, the issue is black or white :/

"Backups" (in a world where the DMCA never existed) would normally be an example of Fair Use in the U.S., however, there is some precedent set a few years ago that noninfringing purposes are okay, DMCA notwithstanding. A "backup", something that would normally fall under Fair Use, would technically be permissible. The definitive status of "backups" under the DMCA is actually nebulous at this time however: the law says one thing, various courts beg to differ or agree, and to boot the Librarian of Congress comes and throws rules and exemptions from time to time. We just need a high court case to set the precedent, or get Congress to rewrite the stupid law.