Until we change the law to reflect this, and you're going to have to change international law (the Berne Convention) to make that happen, you're going to have corporations like Nintendo using...
I would argue that the profound impact of their products on people all over the world loses them (Nintendo) the privilege to withhold and direct the ultimate fate of their old games, because they're now too important to trust in the hands of one company, rather than a collective of people.
Until we change the law to reflect this, and you're going to have to change international law (the Berne Convention) to make that happen, you're going to have corporations like Nintendo using every tool available to protect their distribution monopolies on manufactured pop culture for no other reason than to avoid getting smacked with a due diligence lawsuit by litigious shareholders.
Just adding to what I've already said from the last post of this article, I think this is crummy behavior on Nintendo's part. Just throwing ridiculously inflated lawsuits around isn't going to do...
Just adding to what I've already said from the last post of this article, I think this is crummy behavior on Nintendo's part. Just throwing ridiculously inflated lawsuits around isn't going to do anyone any good. These ROMs already exist, are widespread, and will never go away. Nintendo's actions are very reminiscent of the old tactics used against music pirates over a decade ago, and that obviously did nothing for anyone then, and it won't do anything for anyone now.
Also, before people come in and make their drawn out comments about pirate = bad = end of discussion, consider that many of the games that these ROMs enable people to play can no longer be played any other way. Sure, you can argue that because Nintendo still owns the games they have every right to refrain from making them available, but I think that's an even scummier practice than filing these ridiculous lawsuits that over inflate any possible figures of damage.
Then we move on to the history and preservation side of this topic. Like I already said, these ROMs aren't going away, ever. Nintendo can destroy as many enthusiast websites and break as many fans' hearts as they want to, they'll never be able to get rid of these ROMs. That being said, Nintendo obviously is not interested in allowing people to curate collections of their old products online, and I think that's a shame. To have a website that could be filled to the brim with almost every game between the 80s and 90s and have detailed documentation of those games as well as the ability to play them on any hardware without DRM would be a huge achievement for the video game industry and the Internet, but instead, companies are more interested in chasing after harmless ROMs so that they can "re-launch" their old products on new platforms that you have to buy expensive hardware for, and cannot own your own copy due to DRM.
I find it even more annoying that people are willing to condone these anti-consumer practices by companies like Nintendo under the fragile excuse they they should have unlimited power within their copyright. I would argue that the profound impact of their products on people all over the world loses them (Nintendo) the privilege to withhold and direct the ultimate fate of their old games, because they're now too important to trust in the hands of one company, rather than a collective of people.
I believe this is a duplicate of this.
You may be interested in the discussions there.
Until we change the law to reflect this, and you're going to have to change international law (the Berne Convention) to make that happen, you're going to have corporations like Nintendo using every tool available to protect their distribution monopolies on manufactured pop culture for no other reason than to avoid getting smacked with a due diligence lawsuit by litigious shareholders.
Just adding to what I've already said from the last post of this article, I think this is crummy behavior on Nintendo's part. Just throwing ridiculously inflated lawsuits around isn't going to do anyone any good. These ROMs already exist, are widespread, and will never go away. Nintendo's actions are very reminiscent of the old tactics used against music pirates over a decade ago, and that obviously did nothing for anyone then, and it won't do anything for anyone now.
Also, before people come in and make their drawn out comments about pirate = bad = end of discussion, consider that many of the games that these ROMs enable people to play can no longer be played any other way. Sure, you can argue that because Nintendo still owns the games they have every right to refrain from making them available, but I think that's an even scummier practice than filing these ridiculous lawsuits that over inflate any possible figures of damage.
Then we move on to the history and preservation side of this topic. Like I already said, these ROMs aren't going away, ever. Nintendo can destroy as many enthusiast websites and break as many fans' hearts as they want to, they'll never be able to get rid of these ROMs. That being said, Nintendo obviously is not interested in allowing people to curate collections of their old products online, and I think that's a shame. To have a website that could be filled to the brim with almost every game between the 80s and 90s and have detailed documentation of those games as well as the ability to play them on any hardware without DRM would be a huge achievement for the video game industry and the Internet, but instead, companies are more interested in chasing after harmless ROMs so that they can "re-launch" their old products on new platforms that you have to buy expensive hardware for, and cannot own your own copy due to DRM.
I find it even more annoying that people are willing to condone these anti-consumer practices by companies like Nintendo under the fragile excuse they they should have unlimited power within their copyright. I would argue that the profound impact of their products on people all over the world loses them (Nintendo) the privilege to withhold and direct the ultimate fate of their old games, because they're now too important to trust in the hands of one company, rather than a collective of people.