EFF – MMO Fallout

IPE News: VIolating A Terms of Service Is Still Not A Crime

Good news, internet-goers, violating a website’s terms of service isn’t a crime. It hasn’t been for years, but a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has gone to solidify and embolden that ruling.

In this case, Oracle USA sued Rimini Street Inc in Nevada District Court over allegations of misuse of their website violating established terms of service. Rimini was brought into court over their use of automated programs downloading support materials from Oracle’s website, which is against the company’s terms of service. Oracle sent a cease and desist, but did not restrict access to said files, and eventually filed suit. The judge ruled in favor of Oracle, stating that violating the terms of service constituted a breach of state computer crime statues.

Rimini appealed the ruling to the Ninth Circuit who overturned the lower judge’s decision, noting that Oracle prohibiting certain methods of collecting material does not constitute a violation if the material is already readily available. In short, it’s not illegal just because the website owner doesn’t like your methods.

More analysis can be found on the Electronic Frontier Foundation website piece linked below.

(Source: EFF.org)

ESA Opposes Restoring Online Functionality For Shuttered Services

Allowing people to continue playing games that they legally own, but cannot access due to shuttered services, will destroy the videogame industry and undermine the copyright law. At least this is how the Entertainment Software Association, a trade association representing some of the largest game producers, would like you to think. The ESA, along with the RIAA and MPAA, have written to the Copyright Office in opposition to proposed exemptions to section 1201 of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

The exemption, being pushed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, would offer legal protection for the purposes of preserving abandoned games. With many games relying on servers being maintained for DRM or online-only games, gamers are increasingly finding themselves being unable to return to old titles.

(Source: EFF.org)

The EFF Wants DMCA Protection For Abandoned Games

When the servers shut down for your favorite games, often times players find themselves out of luck and with a product that is no longer usable. To make matters worse, attempts to recover the game by setting up private servers or releasing a program to circumvent the now-useless DRM, run the risk of being met by the publisher’s legal team.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has submitted comments to the Copyright Office asking for an exemption to Section 1201 of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

Game developers and distributors don’t run servers forever, and often shut them off when player numbers dwindle. Having player communities step in to preserve their games is a win for everyone. However, Section 1201 creates chilling effects that keep this from happening. And for games without dedicated programmers who are willing to take legal risks, communities disperse, moving on to new games or just disappearing entirely.