Yahoo News has an article up outlining a new clarification of the DMCA that is set to allow for legal archival of older, no-longer-maintained games. It also allows for legal cracking of the copy protection present on these games.
This is great news for gamers and fans of older games as PC titles from as recently as 5 years ago are almost impossible to find in retail outlets and you have to go to great lengths to acquire them legally under the previous rules. Under the new clarification it would be legal for people to make backups of these older titles, but it would still be illegal for people to distribute them for pay.
I’m sure that quite a few miserly companies are afraid that this will remove the only thumb in the dyke holding back the massive flood of abandonware piracy, but since these companies are no longer realistically making money off of these titles, this ruling is very pro-consumer and a sensible move in what is widely considered an insanely restrictive law (the DMCA).
If you need me, I’ll be pirating “archiving” a copy of Loom while drinking rum and trying not to get ebola from the monkey on my shoulder.
(Editor’s Note: The article also talks about 2 other changes which include the ability for consumers to legally crack their cellular phones for use with any service and for legal mashups of DVDs to be used in scholastic settings. The part that gamers care about is the last third of the article. –Nex)
Published: Nov 25, 2006 02:28 am