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Nintendo is suing the creators of Switch emulator Yuzu
(news.bloomberglaw.com)
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this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2024
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Yes, so distributing the code necessary to perform the decryption is illegal. That’s why you have to hack an actual switch to get the code necessary to perform the decryption (prod.keys). All Yuzu is doing is running that code through an AES library to get the game and emulating a Switch to play it. You can’t make AES libraries illegal just because they can be used to decrypt copy protection.
It’s the same with DVD decryption. VLC is not illegal because it doesn’t include the codes used to decrypt DVDs. Once you have those codes, VLC can copy a DVD for you.
No, it's broader than that. Providing a mechanism is enough. Yes, this is functionally making maths illegal, and yes, this is a complaint we've had with the dmca for 20 years.
Providing the keys is against dmca, as is Providing the tooling that specifically breaks the rights management. This is just the shitty way Americans made the copyright system.
I disagree that the DMCA makes AES libraries illegal.
Okay, well, that's your opinion based on nothing, so it doesn't mean much.
At the very least, read the prior art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_City_Studios%2C_Inc._v._Corley?wprov=sfla1
I don’t know if the two cases are equivalent, DeCSS included all code necessary to decrypt a copy protected DVD.
Yuzu does not include the necessary code to decrypt a Switch game. Users have to either “hack” their own Switch, or pirate the codes. What the users are doing is the illegal part here.
You're conflating the idea of code and keys. The keys are explicitly illegal as they directly fall under nintendo copyright.
The code is also falling under breach of dmca, as its entire use and focus is to break drm. This is the sticking point here.
Again, to labor the point, it's nothing about the keys, we don't need to talk about the keys.
I’m using code in the sense of the word pass codes. Like, encryption codes. The codes you input to an encryption algorithm, along with the cyphertext, to get the plaintext.
But yes, Nintendo and you are saying that distributing Yuzu is illegal because it can only be used to violate the DMCA.
I disagree.
It can also be used in compliance with the DMCA, and nothing it includes are the intellectual property of Nintendo. There are exceptions to the rule about circumventing copy protection, and as long as you use Yuzu with an intent (such as security research) that falls in one of these exceptions, you can use Yuzu legally.
As long as Yuzu is never distributed by its authors with the encryption codes, it shouldn’t be illegal, even according to the DMCA. Otherwise, there would be no way to circumvent copy protection for legal purposes with regard to Switch games.
You can disagree if you like, nintendos lawyers, prior art, and everyone who understands the dmca isn't going to agree with your stance at all.
Your stance is a moral one. The dmca is not moral. It exists to limit your freedoms in favor of companies' profits. Enjoy your blinkered outlook.
Also, never use the word code like that, it's incorrect and everyone will misunderstand you. It's wrong. Use encryption key.