Good news for crackers and software conservationists

[Amiga1992]

I guess this only applies to US law, but hopefully similar change can be made in Europe.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects.../posts/1395505

Basically this means that projects like CAPS can be allowed to circumvent copy protection for the sake of software preservation, fully protected by law. Also this should impact crackers positively I think.

It seems like as an individual you can also circumvent certain things to keep a game working. In all, very interesting development!

[Thorham]

Originally Posted by Akira

In all, very interesting development!

That's an understatement. It's absolutely astounding

[Anubis]

Amazing...

[commodorejohn]

Holy shit, I can't believe anybody managed a successful strike back against the copyright cabal, let alone a small independent group...great news!

[Amiga1992]

This has got to be the best ever money put in a Kickstarter ever.
Hopefully European countries can be coerced to follow suit, somehow. This project sets positive precedent in copyright history and it's a great thing.

I wonder how this would impact abandonware, as far as I understand, this doesn't cover any kind of distribution of said work, so unless you are a registered entity working for preservation, like a museum, you are not allowed in any way to distribute or display software on which you have circumvented its copy protection.

[meynaf]

Wow, a kickstarter project doing something really useful... I'd never guessed i'd see that one day !

[ransom1122]

+1 to everyone else's replies.

[demolition]

Good news indeed, but seeing as the DMCA is not really relevant for museums and the like in the rest of the world, hopefully it can set a trend.

[ReadOnlyCat]

Originally Posted by Akira

I wonder how this would impact abandonware, as far as I understand, this doesn't cover any kind of distribution of said work, so unless you are a registered entity working for preservation, like a museum, you are not allowed in any way to distribute or display software on which you have circumvented its copy protection.

This would not and should not make abandonware legal since this concerns only legitimately purchased copies in the first place.

Abandonware is piracy covered by a thin layer of preservation pretense. But now it has even less justification for existence since circumvention by legitimate purchasers is explicitly allowed.
In short, using emulation and usage if you haven't purchased the originals is still unlawful and still qualifies as entitlement as it should.

What would be better than abandonware would be provisions which force or rather strongly incite authors of copyrighted work to allow republication of their work through modern means. This would allow both legal purchases and (thus) preservation.

[dlfrsilver]

The problem is that in many cases, the source codes of software have been lost.

From what i understood on this matter, is that circumvention of TPM is allowed for software no more sold because the platform they're running on can be bought anymore in shops, same as softwares.

Only the old hardwares and softwares are concerned.

[Samurai_Crow]

Once the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact passes, it will nullify this law.

[Amiga1992]

Originally Posted by ReadOnlyCat

But now it has even less justification for existence since circumvention by legitimate purchasers is explicitly allowed.

Yeah but for example, I CANNOT crack a game, so I need someone to do it for me. This is where crackers come in but I think it's still a grey area, as they would be fully backed by law to crack the game, but distribution would still be illegal.

But this kinda move actually makes things like Flashcarts, cart readers and other backup units, often targets of legal problems by mammoths of gaming like Nintendo, legal. Right?

[brett71]

Originally Posted by Akira

Yeah but for example, I CANNOT crack a game, so I need someone to do it for me. This is where crackers come in but I think it's still a grey area, as they would be fully backed by law to crack the game, but distribution would still be illegal.

But this kinda move actually makes things like Flashcarts, cart readers and other backup units, often targets of legal problems by mammoths of gaming like Nintendo, legal. Right?

I read about this, and I was under the impression that the circumvention was only with regards to software which requires activation by an external server and that server is no longer in operation.

[ReadOnlyCat]

Originally Posted by Akira

Yeah but for example, I CANNOT crack a game, so I need someone to do it for me. This is where crackers come in but I think it's still a grey area, as they would be fully backed by law to crack the game, but distribution would still be illegal.

But this kinda move actually makes things like Flashcarts, cart readers and other backup units, often targets of legal problems by mammoths of gaming like Nintendo, legal. Right?

It is not so clear. (Cf below.)
As for cracking, you just need to adopt a StingRay, Meynaf or Galahad kitten.
These creatures food consists mainly of protection routines so both you and them will have a blast.

Originally Posted by brett71

I read about this, and I was under the impression that the circumvention was only with regards to software which requires activation by an external server and that server is no longer in operation.

You are actually right. ArsTechnica's article about the topic highlights that the exemptions cover very specific uses which do not overlap with individuals's personal use. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...-personal-use/

This said, this is still a step in the right direction. The needle is moving and we should celebrate that for now.

[Amiga1992]

I am pretty sure this can be extended to ANY apparatus that prevents me from using the game.

If I lost the Code wheel, I could crack it.
If my Mario Kart server is dead, I can use/run a new one
If my game manual is lost and I can't enter the keyword, I can crack it.
If I lost my dongle (Robocop, Protools), I can crack it.

Individual game owners can modify their copies to keep them playable when authentication servers are shutdown. Archives, museums and libraries can modify TPMs and jailbreak consoles for the purposes of preserving games.

I would think that modification would exceed just "authentication servers" and would include any and all means that prevent me from playing a game because the protection method is broken or lost in any way.

I guess my claim was a bit bold and this still would not really back preservationists dealing with the removal of copy protection from a floppy disk track or decryption of an arcade game ROM :/ But yeah, definitely a good move.

[ReadOnlyCat]

Originally Posted by Akira

I am pretty sure this can be extended to ANY apparatus that prevents me from using the game.

If I lost the Code wheel, I could crack it.
If my Mario Kart server is dead, I can use/run a new one
If my game manual is lost and I can't enter the keyword, I can crack it.
If I lost my dongle (Robocop, Protools), I can crack it.

Alas no.
The ArsTechnica article lists very explicitly _who_ gets exemptions and only a few types of professions/occupations qualify.

[Amiga1992]

I meant, at some point in the future or in particular court cases, not now.

[ReadOnlyCat]

Originally Posted by Akira

I meant, at some point in the future or in particular court cases, not now.

Ah, ok. Sorry, I misunderstood you as saying that the legal changes could be interpreted as to allow these things.

Another angle of attack would be to force copyright owners of DRM protected content to be forced to provide replacements/upgrades/transfers for broken/outdated dongle/media for the sole cost of materials to any legitimate buyer.

I am sure this would change their perspective on the issue.

[commodorejohn]

Really, the amazing thing is that anybody has managed to make any headway against the Copyright Cabal, no matter how limited it may be.

[Minuous]

Their claim that "we just managed to make a major change to American Copyright law" is a bit exaggerated. It's a 3 year exemption for a narrow range of uses, at the whim of some librarian, and still no redistribution rights.

It should be made illegal to add DRM, not to remove it. The whole system is the wrong way around.

I would think that modification would exceed just "authentication servers" and would include any and all means that prevent me from playing a game because the protection method is broken or lost in any way.

There was already an existing non-server related exemption which has been renewed.