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Copyright Law Just Got Better for Video Game History (vice.com)
In a series of rulings, the Library of Congress has carved out a number of exemptions that will help the movement to archive and preserve video games. From a report: In an 85-page ruling [PDF] that covered everything from electronic aircraft controls to farm equipment diagnostic software, the Librarian of Congress carved out fair use exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for video games and software in general. These exemptions will make it easier for archivists to save historic video games and for museums to share that cultural history with the public. "The Acting Register found that the record supported granting an expansion in the relatively discrete circumstances where a preservation institution legally possesses a copy of a video game's server code and the game's local code," the Librarian of Congress said. "In such circumstances, the preservation activities described by proponents are likely to be fair uses."
These rules are definitely good news for single-player games. "The big change for single-player games happened during the last DMCA review process in 2015, when the Copyright Office decided that museums and archives could break the online authentication for single-player titles that were just phoning home to a server for copy protection reasons," Phil Salvador -- a Washington, DC-area librarian and archivist who runs The Obscuritory, a site that focuses on discussing and preserving obscure, old game -- told Motherboard. That 2015 ruling was due to expire this year, but thanks to pressure from activists it was renewed today instead.
These rules are definitely good news for single-player games. "The big change for single-player games happened during the last DMCA review process in 2015, when the Copyright Office decided that museums and archives could break the online authentication for single-player titles that were just phoning home to a server for copy protection reasons," Phil Salvador -- a Washington, DC-area librarian and archivist who runs The Obscuritory, a site that focuses on discussing and preserving obscure, old game -- told Motherboard. That 2015 ruling was due to expire this year, but thanks to pressure from activists it was renewed today instead.
More to the point, why wasn't Emuparadise one?
If they legally possess the server code they probably already have permission from the publisher to ignore digital locks?
... since it now doesn't matter since most developer and Microsoft and tech industry in general are pushing towards locked down computing. We're seeing the final push with windows 10+. They have already lawyered it and planted bombs in it to death anyway, there's no way publishers are going to go back to giving gamers full control of the software. We've seen the big final push from Ubisoft with the latest assasins creed and Microsoft has a huge streaming project they are working on, while releasing seriously hostile coded UWP games. This is a far cry from the 90's where we had the raw files because there was no internet they could use to steal pieces of files and game code to prevent gamers from owning nad controlling their software.
The last 20 years have been a real revolution for developers and publishers to get rid of game ownership by being able to not give the complete game to gamers because their customers can't reach them. The attack on game ownership began with ultima series back in the 90's as all PC rpg's in development were relabelled mmo's and moved over to server locked pieces of software, undermining control and the privacy of gamers as the gullible masses ate it up because they are clueless. The rise of steam, mmo's and f2p games are proof we live in an idiocracy.
Then today we have overwatch who's entire content is already on your machine but has a lootbox interface for you to gamble to 'set a flag to view the file contents' if you can't wait because they know the average gamer is a fucking computer illiterate moron.