Thanks for giving them more material to work with if they ever decide to sue us, btw.
Nintendo's disc base
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01-12-2015, 02:42 PM
If they didn't have lawyers that already knew stuff like this... they need new lawyers.
01-12-2015, 02:53 PM
Read about willful infringement.
01-12-2015, 03:00 PM
Regarding that, for a good laugh read this:
http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp Quote:[color=#707070]A Nintendo emulator is a software program that is designed to allow game play on a platform that it was not created for. A Nintendo emulator allows for Nintendo console based or arcade games to be played on unauthorized hardware. The video games are obtained by downloading illegally copied software, i.e. Nintendo ROMs, from Internet distributors. Nintendo ROMs then work with the Nintendo emulator to enable game play on unauthorized hardware such as a personal computer, a modified console, etc.[/color]There's not much evidence that suggests Dolphin is designed to allow illegal copies of games to be played. Just take a look at this forum: Anyone that needs help with illegal copies (and openly claims it's illegall) immediatly gets banned from the forum. Quote:[color=#707070]The introduction of emulators created to play illegally copied Nintendo software represents the greatest threat to date to the intellectual property rights of video game developers. As is the case with any business or industry, when its products become available for free, the revenue stream supporting that industry is threatened. Such emulators have the potential to significantly damage a worldwide entertainment software industry which generates over $15 billion annually, and tens of thousands of jobs.[/color]So they're literally telling us that things which they don't make profit from hurt their market share and industry. How can you loose money on something that isn't produced anymore and only available via second hand, where Nintendo literally makes no money? Quote:[color=#707070]Distribution of an emulator developed to play illegally copied Nintendo software hurts Nintendo's goodwill, the millions of dollars invested in research & development and marketing by Nintendo and its licensees. Substantial damages are caused to Nintendo and its licensees. It is irrelevant whether or not someone profits from the distribution of an emulator. The emulator promotes the play of illegal ROMs , NOT authentic games. Thus, not only does it not lead to more sales, it has the opposite effect and purpose.[/color]Again, they claim they loose money on something you can't buy anymore. It's like Volkswagen complaining that they don't make any money on used VW T1s. Nintendo pretty much doesn't get that the emulator itself doesn't just magically play illegal copies by itself. The end user has several choices to get their games, legal ways (which are the only ones supported by the dolphin community) preferred. 01-12-2015, 03:12 PM
01-12-2015, 03:13 PM
Willful infringement (according to the US 9th Circuit Court) only occurs when:
Quote:1. the defendant engaged in acts that infringed the copyright; and They would have to prove with a "preponderance of the evidence" that none of us honestly or seriously believed what we were doing was covered under the law (Fair Use or other court precedents like I posted earlier). Most of us are quite adamant that emulation and dumping our own games are legal (at least where we live). 01-12-2015, 05:15 PM
(01-12-2015, 01:51 PM)Shonumi Wrote: "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. Backups don't fall under Fair Use. A backup is a copy of the original to safeguard against loss, while Fair Use pertains to making copies in order to use the work in question on devices that don't accept the original format. So making a "backup" of a wii game (with the excuse of preserving the original disc) does definitely not fall under Fair Use. (01-12-2015, 05:15 PM)tueidj Wrote:(01-12-2015, 01:51 PM)Shonumi Wrote: "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. You're right, it's not Fair Use that explicitly grants users permission to make personal copies, at least there is no court-based precedent for this yet. It was the infamous "Betamax" case that explicitly grants users permission to make "personal-use" copies. In that regard, there are even stronger legal protections in favor of "backups" under that ruling than under Fair Use, since the range of applications (not just for comment, criticism, research, etc) is broader; "personal-use" could be any of the above, plus archival uses. The only sticking point is the issue of circumvention, which as I've said, is not well defined and probably won't be until a relevant SCOTUS. The actual circumvention itself (like I linked to before) has some precedent as being Fair Use. Outside of the DMCA, the actual copying has been affirmed by the highest court in the land as legal for our purposes here.
I found here that it is legal to make a backup copy of a video game for archival purposes.
http://www.theesa.com/public-policy/inte...tion-faqs/ So am I good?
Try making backup copies. If no one starts pounding on your door after a few months, you should be clear.
Jokes aside, none of us is an IP lawyer afaik. We can only tell you what we believe based on what we know (or what we think we know) about various copyright laws. Any company or organization can put up a website that says anything they want, even if it isn't true. That is not to judge the legal value of what the ESA is saying, I'm simply pointing out that if you're looking for authority from the internet, you need to be careful. Read up on the matter more if you're still on-the-fence. I'm of the position that making backups is legal where I live based on what evidence I've read and what I understand. To me, the law permits this activity (both copying and circumvention) as a non-infringing use case. |
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