Hacking Why add anti-piracy measures to Devolution ?

[McHaggis]

EULA's aren't above the law, but they ARE legally binding. That's why they are considered so shady. You are agreeing to a legally binding contract by using the software, giving the license holder rights to take legal action if you violate it.

Now, more than likely that would never happen, I just wanted to make a point

EULAs aren't always legally binding. Often they contain clauses that are contrary to statutory rights, which can make the whole thing come down like a house of cards. Take the very thing you brought up: Devolution breaks the EULA. Well, in this country, I'm perfectly within my rights to backup a game to a hard drive. However, for that backup to be useful, there must be a way to play it legitimately. So, the EULA tells me I can't do that, but my statutory rights say I can.

Of course, a company also has the right to deny service to anyone, as long as it's not in a discriminate manner. They technically don't even need an EULA to ban you from their online services.

 

[4K_future]

If Tueidj had a accept terms and conditions flag like most other applications would the complaints stop. I doubt it.

If you dont like the software as it is then hack away.

I just hope the author does not get pissed and stop the project as I have no problem with the authentication process and think Devolution is one of the best home brew programs available for the wii.

 

[EagleDelta1]

EULAs aren't always legally binding. Often they contain clauses that are contrary to statutory rights, which can make the whole thing come down like a house of cards. Take the very thing you brought up: Devolution breaks the EULA. Well, in this country, I'm perfectly within my rights to backup a game to a hard drive. However, for that backup to be useful, there must be a way to play it legitimately. So, the EULA tells me I can't do that, but my statutory rights say I can.

Of course, a company also has the right to deny service to anyone, as long as it's not in a discriminate manner. They technically don't even need an EULA to ban you from their online services.

The problem we run into is that, in the US, the Library of Congress has declared that circumventing copy protection (this includes modding for non-piracy reasons) any closed system, other than smartphones, is illegal. That's the confusion I have - not only is the Dev of Devolution trying to prevent piracy for games that no longer generate revenue for their devs/publishers, but he's trying to prevent something that's illegal (Piracy violates copyright law) while at the same time violating the same law (I believe it's copyright law that governs this in the US).

 

[megazig]

please leave law out of this. he's not even from US and might just have put it in there to see if he could.

 

[stomp_442]

Copying copyrighted game discs in the USA is against the law, it don't matter if I own the game or not. So, for me to use devolution I would have to break the law. Is devolution promoting video game piracy?

 

[McHaggis]

Copying copyrighted game discs in the USA is against the law, it don't matter if I own the game or not. So, for me to use devolution I would have to break the law. Is devolution promoting video game piracy?

Yes. Devolution is absolutely promoting video game piracy. That should be obvious to anyone, I'm surprised it took 59 pages of posts before anyone mentioned it.

 

[JoostinOnline]

Copying copyrighted game discs in the USA is against the law, it don't matter if I own the game or not. So, for me to use devolution I would have to break the law. Is devolution promoting video game piracy?

As has been pointed out many, many times, tueidj does not live in the USA. Besides, it's legal to rip a game yourself, just not downloading it:
http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#download_rom

 

[stomp_442]

As has been pointed out many, many times, tueidj does not live in the USA. Besides, it's legal to rip a game yourself, just not downloading it:
http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#download_rom

from the link you posted

U.S. copyright laws state that copyrights owned by corporations are valid for 75 years from the date of first publication. Because video games have been around for less than three decades, the copyrights of all video games will not expire for many decades to come.

Most of the people of this forum live in a country where copying video games is illegal, you can live outside of the USA and still be a pirate. Now post a link to where it says it's legal to have a backup copy of a video game that has been copyrighted.

 

[McHaggis]

from the link you posted


Most of the people of this forum live in a country where copying video games is illegal, you can live outside of the USA and still be a pirate. Now post a link to where it says it's legal to have a backup copy of a video game that has been copyrighted.

That's not entirely true. IIRC, under the DMCA, it is illegal to circumvent copy protection. However, it is perfectly legal to make a backup copy of your own games. So you can backup a game as long as you're not breaking copy protection. I'm not entirely sure if ripping a game on your wii constitutes breaking such protections, since, technically there is no protection to speak of when ripping a game because no tricks are required in the copying software. Grey area, I'd say.

Here in the UK, I don't have that dilemma. My government says I have a legal right to backup my games.

 

[Rydian]

Step 1 - Buy a game online, download the installer.
Step 2 - Right-click the installer, click "copy".
Step 3 - Right-click on your desktop, click "paste".
Holy shit, copyright infringement. Sue sue sue!

It's not as simple as that, man. Copyright law refers to copies made for distribution, and is intended to protect an artist's (or manufacturer's or IP holder's) right to be the only one to be able to reproduce and sell their creation. This is why the right to have a safe copy of something is always assumed, since it doesn't go against the core intent of copyright law (controlling distribution and profiting).

The issue with making a personal copy nowadays when it comes to game consoles and media is that you often need to bypass/break DRM, which has had a blanket "illegal" placed on it (so much that exceptions are ruled to be stated every few years).

 

[stomp_442]

In the USA there is the DMCA. No where in the wiki page does it say anything about backup copies being legally used in place of the original. There is a mention of video games, but not in the way you are thinking.

Video games accessible on personal computers and protected by technological protection measures that control access to lawfully obtained works, when circumvention is accomplished solely for the purpose of good faith testing for, investigating, or correcting security flaws or vulnerabilities, if:

• The information derived from the security testing is used primarily to promote the security of the owner or operator of a computer, computer system, or computer network; and
• The information derived from the security testing is used or maintained in a manner that does not facilitate copyright infringement or a violation of applicable law. (A new exemption in 2010.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act#Anti-circumvention_exemptions

 

[JoostinOnline]

from the link you posted


Most of the people of this forum live in a country where copying video games is illegal, you can live outside of the USA and still be a pirate. Now post a link to where it says it's legal to have a backup copy of a video game that has been copyrighted.

I guess you didn't read the section I actually linked to:

There is a good deal of misinformation on the Internet regarding the backup/archival copy exception. It is not a "second copy" rule and is often mistakenly cited for the proposition that if you have one lawful copy of a copyrighted work, you are entitled to have a second copy of the copyrighted work even if that second copy is an infringing copy. The backup/archival copy exception is a very narrow limitation relating to a copy being made by the rightful owner of an authentic game to ensure he or she has one in the event of damage or destruction of the authentic. Therefore, whether you have an authentic game or not, or whether you have possession of a Nintendo ROM for a limited amount of time, i.e. 24 hours, it is illegal to download and play a Nintendo ROM from the Internet.

Anyway, none of this matters. tueidj added AP because he didn't want his work used as a warez loader. Question answered.

 

[McHaggis]

Copying copyrighted game discs in the USA is against the law, it don't matter if I own the game or not. So, for me to use devolution I would have to break the law. Is devolution promoting video game piracy?

Getting back to your original question: even if making a backup of a game you own was illegal, I don't think the term pirate would apply. The ideals of people who play backups and people who play "backups" aren't shared, so you can't say that Devolution is promoting video game piracy, especially when it goes quite a way to prevent piracy.

 

[pr0ton]

One question, does it work with the Wiikey Fusion/WODE as workaround? In comment #256 there it is a positive.

 

[the_randomizer]

Illegal or not, the draconian DMCA regulations is never going to stop people from making backups. It's not enforceable, it cannot be traced, therefore, people will still personal copies regardless of the laws in place. If the anti-piracy measures are "unfair" you can *gasp*, use USB Loader GX. Was that really so hard to decide? It's like gun control or banning guns in Japan, just because it's illegal for the citizens to possess firearms, that never stopped the Yakuza from getting them, did it?

 

[g4jek8j54]

Why has this thread not been locked yet? Anyway...

One question, does it work with the Wiikey Fusion/WODE as workaround? In comment #256 there it is a positive.

I believe that any mod-chip can cause issues when running Devolution, but I guess that the Devolution program could work fine with some. However, this is probably the best thread to ask this question in...

http://gbatemp.net/threads/devolution-public-release.330554/

 

[the_randomizer]

Why has this thread not been locked yet? Anyway...



I believe that any mod-chip can cause issues when running Devolution, but I guess that the Devolution program could work fine with some. However, this is probably the best thread to ask this question in...

http://gbatemp.net/threads/devolution-public-release.330554/

Why hasn't it been locked? Simple. The mods are too lazy to submit to us more lowly peons.

 

[pr0ton]

I believe that any mod-chip can cause issues when running Devolution, but I guess that the Devolution program could work fine with some. However, this is probably the best thread to ask this question in...

http://gbatemp.net/threads/devolution-public-release.330554/

Yes, I should ask tueidj about this. Btw in his first post: - Not discussion of how to "crack" Devolution - feel free to discuss it elsewhere but keep this thread clean.

And how troubled his vision about anti-piracy is, I respect his demands.

 

[JoostinOnline]

Why has this thread not been locked yet?

Because it keeps the pointless bitching in one place.

 

[the_randomizer]

Because it keeps the pointless bitching in one place.

One place....heh, yeah right.