Seriously what is this? Nintendo argues that by instructing users how to extract the prod.keys from their own switch the yuzu developers are essencially infringing on the DMCA.
So what? Now you can’t even freely use your own property anymore because it goes against the design intentions of some big company that just want’s to milk their users?
Nintendo goes directly after this argument in its lawsuit, arguing that buying a Switch game only means you “have Nintendo’s authorization to play that single copy on an unmodified Nintendo Switch console.”
My favorite thing about the modern world is how we don’t get to own the computers we purchase…
I build my own. Though I still need non-free software to run, I don’t think it is from any DMCA enforcers.
System76 is not too bad if you want something mildly customizable but don’t want to futz with doing assembly yourself. I get my laptops from them.
I’ve tried open phones (multiple) and I still use a Pixel. There is a choice, but I was willing to trade off my freedom for function there. I wish that wasn’t the choice and when I can I support efforts to make it easier for people to choose freedom there.
So, yeah, there is often a choice. Doesn’t make the status quo acceptable.
There is no such thing as justice in courts. Lawsuits are corporate weapons.
Like (first hand experience in California) if you do not have 100k in liquid assets available right now, and you get injured by someone else, you’re not going to get jack shit for some lawsuit. You can’t navigate it on your own because of all the bullshit, and you’ll need lots of “expert witnesses”. Here is a little secret, expert witnesses are all academic opinion mercenaries that cost around 6k-10k each on an open market. You’ll need a bunch of them to counter whatever the other side does. In the USA it is all a formality in court. Whoever buys the most mercenaries wins the game. The insurance company or firm on retainer gets a bulk discount on mercenaries. The Supreme Court is not the only extremely corrupt institution here. Right, wrong, it’s all irrelevant. We are all worthless serfs in neo feudalism.
Dude. Can we make a giant list called america bad and put all the dystopian shit on it and pull it out when any idiot comes around and tries to defend that corporate shithole of a country?
I mean, I‘m frustrated and embarrassed of the country I live in but stories like this make me feel like I‘d surely be dead by now if I was in the US (where my mother grew up btw).
Like, why dont people who can just move? Especially the IT peeps who make tons of money should immediately go for northern europe. Everyone speaks english, the corpos are not half as strong (afaik) and people are friendly (my personal experience). The US would scream in terror if their top talent would start to move away. If the election this year goes bad, just vote with your feet folks.
It costs a lot more money than most Americans have available, especially if wanting to move to the EU or Canada and want to work.
I can speak Mexican Spanish and have considered moving there. The biggest obstacle are the Americans who want a cheap version of the US and are essentially colonizing these towns.
If I move to Mexico (or any other country), I want to experience that culture, not displaced American consumerism.
I sympathize with the money issue. But thats also why I intentionally said it would be good if peeps with well paying jobs/skills move away because
a) they can set an example without ruining themselves b) the absence of top talent will make much bigger waves then others which might change the course over time c) the economy needs to break for the system to change which will go faster if people who drive it leave
Obviously, folks with minimum wage are in dire need of help but I dont have a solution to this just yet. The most manageable seems to be the above atm.
The only alternative I see is mass strike which might lead to looting when people need to decide between striking and eating. So a massive escalation that I cant seriously suggest.
With everything else being more expensive…
Although I only know this to be true for germany. No idea about nordic countries. They’re generally more awesome than germany in most regards. Only downside is the light situation.
Like, why dont people who can just move?
Kind of a catch-22.
America is the best country in the world, if you’re rich. Once someones earning a lot and saved up move to New Zealand money the appeal isn’t as strong for most.
immediately go for northern europe
Oof. That’s akin to moving there in 1938. Bit of a risky proposition to say the least.
I wouldn’t move there now if allowed and I don’t even have illegally move to Mexico money.
Indeed. The people who desperately need to leave cant and those who could arent in hot water, yet. Thats why I think folks who are being laid off by tech overlords should consider rooting it all up rn. Because your employer cant fire you in germany without cause or has to provide means to find a new job. I was talking about nordic countries earlier but this system is pretty awesome, even if everything else is meh atm.
I have a great life in America personally, no desire to move. That’s why I don’t.
I can do whatever I want every day, and life is very affordable for me, and I enjoy living where I live.
Streisand effect is currently very active on this one. Thousands of news outlets, many extremely casual and geared towards average joes who never new emulation existed, are now all being told that “this thing called yuzu can play switch games for free”. Nintendo is shooting themselves in the foot. Even if Yuzu dies, it will get forked and people who never knew emulation existed, now do, and look for alternatives.
instructing users how to extract the prod.keys from their own switch
Yuzu’s quick start guide links to the old download link for Lockpick RCM from the same repo that is still inaccessible ever since Nintendo’s DMCA takedown last year (source: arstechnica). They never updated the page to link to any mirrors of Lockpick RCM or any other options to extract the keys; the guide doesn’t even work right now. You can see in Yuzu site’s changelog on github that the only changes made to that page in the last year are to minimum/recommended hardware requirements.
It seems even more absurd to argue that instructions are somehow infringing when the allegedly infringing part of them has already been broken for almost a year. Even the standing for taking down Lockpick RCM in the first place seems questionable, and telling users to use it with a broken link seems several layers further detached from that.
Ethically, I agree with you. More than that, using a lockpick on a lock you bought shouldn’t make you a thief. Unfortunately, DMCA has abysmal anti-circumvention measures that make the legality of using a device you own in ways you should be able to become questionable under US law, in the digital equivalent of Master Lock suing you for picking a lock you bought from them.
Were they sleeping for almost a decade now? Doesn’t the prod keys users extract belong to them? Fuck capitalism
This is Nintendo’s point, making use of the prod keys goes against the DMCA
If Nintendo can prove that the primary purpose of Yuzu is to circumvent Nintendo’s encryption, there is a very real and very scary chance they could win the lawsuit.
17 USC §1201 (a)(2)
No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that—
(A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title;
(B) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title; or
© is marketed by that person or another acting in concert with that person with that person’s knowledge for use in circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.
It’s less about being right and more about Yuzu devs willing to spend a million dollars to defend themselves and risk a tens of millions of dollars ruling against them. The best case Yuzu will have is winning and court costs. Worse case is owing God knows how much to Nintendo. The system is bullshit.
I’m no lawyer so I could be completely off-base, but I think the existence of homebrew can make all 3 points defensible, depending on what evidence exists about their primary intent being breaking the DRM. If they have posted publicly things like “this patch should bypass DRM for this particular game” then they would be screwed, but posts like “supports/extends this feature so we can better emulate the functionality in this particular game” should be fine? At least if I understand the precedent set by the Connectix ruling in addition to the wording of what you pasted?
No you misunderstood, when you bought your Switch you didn’t buy the hardware and the software on it, you only bought the right to use the hardware and software. It still belongs to Nintendo, and you better watch out you do nothing bad with it!
The thing is, Apple already went through the same lawsuit against jailbreaking a while back and lost. I don’t think Nintendo is going to like where this goes.
