France Agrees With Spain In Saying Modding Nintendo DS Is Not Illegal

from the good-for-them dept

We had just recently written about how a Spanish court had ruled against Nintendo, saying that a company making "flash carts" for the Nintendo DS -- basically alternative cartridges that can be used for non-authorized games -- was not breaking the law. The ruling basically said that since the flash carts extended the utility of the Nintendo DS, it should be allowed. The reasoning is that Nintendo should not be the only one who can extend the functionality of its devices. This was a nice surprise, but not a huge surprise, since Spain has a good track record of reasonable copyright law decisions.

However, what is surprising is this story, sent in by a few folks, with reader "Sauce" getting it in first, noting that there has been a similar ruling in France, the inventors of the infamous "three strikes and you're out" form of copyright law. The court there seemed to have a problem with Nintendo purposely locking developers out of its device, and even suggested that it should be required to be more open to developers, like Windows. Fascinating to see European courts recognizing the rights of individuals to have a "freedom to tinker."

Filed Under: copyright, france, modding, nintendo ds
Companies: nintendo

Spanish Court Dismisses Complaint From Nintendo Against Counterfiet DS Cartridges, Since They Add Functionality

from the getting-it-right dept

It seems that Spain is a country that is pretty consistently figuring out that we shouldn't just throw out all other rights the second "piracy" is shouted by the entertainment industry. We've noted recently that the country hasn't just rejected three strikes and declared broadband a basic right, but has also ruled, repeatedly, that personal file sharing is legal. And now, it even has judges who realize that "anti-circumvention" laws should have limits as well.

As you probably know, one of the key things that the entertainment industry has pushed for throughout the world is "anti-circumvention" clauses in copyright law. In the US we have this in the DMCA and it's a total mess. The law basically says that any attempt to circumvent (or to make or sell a tool to circumvent) DRM on a digital work is a violation of the copyright law -- even if making a copy of the content in question wouldn't violate copyright law.

Spanish copyright law includes an anti-circumvention clause, but as Leo Martins alerts us, a judge in Salamanca, Spain has taken a much more nuanced view of it in a case pitting Nintendo against Grupo Movilquick, who produced alternative cartridges for Nintendo DS devices. The judge's ruling (translated from the original) appears to find that the alternative cartridges do, in fact, circumvent Nintendo's DRM and can be used for "pirating" games, but also extend the utility of the devices for perfectly legal purposes. For that reason, the judge dismissed the lawsuit (translation from the original) noting that it doesn't make sense that the law would be intended to say that only Nintendo can expand the functionality of its devices, and the fact that Nintendo doesn't offer similar functionality shouldn't preclude others from doing so. There are areas where Nintendo can still bring a lawsuit, such as for patent and trademark issues, but the judge notes those should be dealt with in a civil court.

Filed Under: anti-circumvention, competition, copyright, counterfeit cartridges, functionality, nintendo ds, spain
Companies: grupo movilquick, nintendo

Nintendo Freaks Out That People Can Use Memory Card To Pirate Games

from the give-them-a-reason-to-buy dept

You would think by now that companies might start to realize that they're never going to put a damper on any kind of piracy by lawsuit -- but that they need to actually give people a reason to buy. Apparently that message has not yet gotten through to the suits at Nintendo, who are looking into lawsuits to make it difficult to buy products that let you use unauthorized versions of DS handheld console games. There's a device called the R4 Revolution, that can be used by DS owners to store all their games on a single memory card, so they don't have to carry around all those cartridges. That's a big advantage and a huge value.

Of course, it also lets owners play unauthorized games. And, that, has Nintendo execs freaked out and suing.

But considering the very real legitimate use of the device, it's hard to see what's "illegal" about the device itself. In trying to stop the sale of the device, of course, Nintendo is also providing a lot more attention for the device and the fact that it can be used for unauthorized games as well. You would think that a device that made the actual DS console more valuable would be something that Nintendo execs would get excited about rather than trying to sue it out of existence.

Filed Under: memory cards, nintendo ds, piracy, r4 revolution, video games
Companies: nintendo