At an eSports event in Tokyo, a group of top IP lawyers were brought together to do a live discussion on copyright and IP in the gaming industry. This included lawyers from Capcom, Nintendo and Sega, among others. When the topic of emulators was brought up, Nintendo’s patent attorney Koji Nishiura mentioned that emulators are completely legal.
He follows that up by saying certain emulators can still break the law. For example, the Switch is built with software that stops it from playing pirated games, so if a Switch emulator bypasses those to play illegal games, then it’s susceptible to legal trouble. Home screens and menus can also be copyrighted, which can stir up issues with the law.
The lawyer stated that Nintendo pursues emulators to ensure that developers can earn the money they deserve from their games. Emulators that point users to where to get pirated games are also illegal. The popular Switch Emulator Yuzu was shut down for allegedly sharing ROMs (games) for top Switch titles.
Source: Denfaminicogamer Via: Android Authority
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