Gaming Are Save Files Copyrighted?

[Tempylon]

Hello,
Are Save Files Copyrighted? Because I want to make a big NDS Save Database.

 

[migles]

Don't worry. go ahead and make it.

i am no lawyer but i would say they are not.

 

[Tempylon]

Don't worry. go ahead and make it.

i am no lawyer but i would say they are not.

I think they are just files, that have ID's in it.

 

[FAST6191]

Gamefaqs and a dozen other sites (including here) hosted them for decades, the former tending to be rather anti piracy (which did lead to amusing scenarios on the DS but I will skip that one).

Generally save data is a combination of user created data and any company data is unlikely to meet any kind of creativity threshold to get copyright protections -- a list of stats for an RPG character is not really anything. Worst case scenario in general is someone draws a trademarked logo in a game that supports such things, and I have never heard of anybody getting in trouble for that. There might be some exceptions like Daigasso Band Brothers which had a massive save for DLC of a sort but that would be a case by case basis.

If said saves trouble online games somehow then that can make some people upset. Here though online games have been dead in an official capacity for years so there is not even that.

Basically if your goal is the classic "all levels unlocked, all items unlocked, max money/items, start with X, use this save to do this challenge run..." style save database then you should be fine.

 

[Tempylon]

Gamefaqs and a dozen other sites (including here) hosted them for decades, the former tending to be rather anti piracy (which did lead to amusing scenarios on the DS but I will skip that one).

Generally save data is a combination of user created data and any company data is unlikely to meet any kind of creativity threshold to get copyright protections -- a list of stats for an RPG character is not really anything. Worst case scenario in general is someone draws a trademarked logo in a game that supports such things, and I have never heard of anybody getting in trouble for that. There might be some exceptions like Daigasso Band Brothers which had a massive save for DLC of a sort but that would be a case by case basis.

If said saves trouble online games somehow then that can make some people upset. Here though online games have been dead in an official capacity for years so there is not even that.

Basically if your goal is the classic "all levels unlocked, all items unlocked, max money/items, start with X, use this save to do this challenge run..." style save database then you should be fine.

Okay thanks for your help!

 

[migles]

I think they are just files, that have ID's in it.

i am gonna elaborate on my answer
they usually don't have stuff like the intellectual propriety of the developers, i mean like music, art, videos etc, textures, code of the game, or designed maps.
they USUALLY only have stored info about what you unlocked, stats, stuff that you got, your location and plenty of other stuff that are related to your progress..

sharing game saves had always been allowed in all places.. i don't see why it should make a problem, unless for some weird reason the developers programmed the game in a way that would store complete stuff from the rom into the save, instead of where you are and where is stuff, what you defeated and etc

 

[Tempylon]

i am gonna elaborate on my answer
they usually don't have stuff like the intellectual propriety of the developers, i mean like music, art, videos etc, textures, code of the game, or designed maps.
they USUALLY only have stored info about what you unlocked, stats, stuff that you got, your location and plenty of other stuff that are related to your progress..

sharing game saves had always been allowed in all places.. i don't see why it should make a problem, unless for some weird reason the developers programmed the game in a way that would store complete stuff from the rom into the save, instead of where you are and where is stuff, what you defeated and etc in that map.

Yeah. I looked at a save file and most of them are just 512KB.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

There's also a category in FileTrip: https://filetrip.net/nds-downloads/game-saves

 

[chrisrlink]

companies tried but failed (until now at least in japan) to block things like Action replay Game genie etc courts ruled in the cheat devices favor citing that cause save data is user generated and volitile (erasable) in most cases i recall that resident evil (one of the 3ds games,to deter used game sales) couldn't be eraseed anywho same principal ruling in Nintendo V galoob (the ruling i stated above) could be applied to sharing saves as they are user genned and volitile

 

[Ryccardo]

If they are copyrightable (which needs to be considered case by case, on the virtue of containing nontrivial artistic effort - think of certain things that can be done in Warioware DIY, Minecraft, Animal Crossing, Mario Paint or its 64DD sequels, ... - or from another already mentioned point of view, games where DLC is actually not built-in && stored in the save) then it's copyrighted by whoever put the creative effort in, who of course then get a saying on who ought to be able to redistribute copies


(Is Nintendo infringing on my copyright by obstructing my ability to backup and distribute my saves? I think so but it would be interesting to see the actual outcome in court in various countries)