Emulegal Phase 2Let Battle Commence?David RavenJune 2000 An emulator is a computer program with the ability to run computer programs from a different computer platform or operating system. This is a loose definition but it will do for now as I pointed out last month. As the interest in emulation has grown, the advances in programming techniques coupled with technological capabilities has seen an unprecedented increase in glances to the lush green grass on the other side of the fence. Computer owners are no longer happy with with riding astride an awesome array of hardware to enhance their gaming experience, they want the added bonus of playing somebody elses games, designed for a completely different system. This is understandable where software for another computer platform is desired - especially if that platform is fifteen years old and the original media is unreliable - but is it really so inconvenient to fire up a console and a TV? Sadly, millions of gamers seem to think so... Lets drift slightly and examine a test-subject...take me, for example. I have a PC (in retrospeak I own an IBM-compatible computer) and neither have the room or inclination to buy an iMac (remember it's only an example) but it runs a splendid piece of software not available for my machine...I have an emulator that allows the software to work in a slightly impaired capacity yet retaining useful functionality...my choices are buy the iMac, or buy the software...by process of elimination I choose to save £1000 and go for the software. So far I have done nothing wrong, and only the makers of the iMac are upset, which is tough really, as we'll soon discover. On the other hand, I could have logged onto a website or BBS offering the same software title for free (illegal, but for the cost of the telephone call who could blame me) and proceeded to download at which point my problems begin... Tearing up the rootsUntil recently the entire emulation scene was firmly rooted in the past. Modern computer equipment could be used to play all those old games we grew up with in the eighties. Systems as diverse as the Atari VCS, Intellivision, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 were faithfully restored on our computer screen, testimony to each author and securing legendary status for those with the original conception...fame without the fortune...but everyone was happy so long as no money was changing hands. It has to be said that until a couple of years ago, the retro gaming scene was barely given a glance by the original copyright holders, or by those to whom the copyright had passed.Then came the console explosion. Sega, Nintendo, Phillips and Sony unleashed some incredible sophisticated technology and superior software into a world hungry for a different stimulant, and gave it to us in a nicely priced pill, squeezing splendid graphics, sound and (usually) fast, enjoyable gameplay onto a cartridge or CD. At the outset, similarly capable hardware for the PC was overpriced and under-utilised and a new cold-war began. The result was astonishing in terms of sales of console software, which fed the research and development of better hardware and therefore better games (depending on your point of view) whilst keeping prices within acceptable limts. The computer industry responded in kind, by adopting universal standards and getting away from the shackles imposed by DOS. Manufacturers struck up deals and partnerships to deliver superb combinations of equipment that promoted personal productivity and enhanced the then buzzword multimedia and gaming experience. Those left behind could take their pick of a varied range of cost-effective add-ons to bring them into line. For some it wasn't enough...the now-superior PC hardware was capable of supporting these upstart consoles, and somebody fancied the idea of Sonic The Hedgehog a click away from the Windows desktop... In much the same way that schoolkids with a twin-tapedeck contributed in some way to the decimation of the tape--based software industry...the console manufacturers fear that the console emulators will do the same to their dreams of global domination. Why buy a 128-bit console when you can just buy the CD and use it on the kit you already own? It has once again come down to the financial bottom-line, profit margins,share dividends, fat pensions and losing the yacht. War has been declared...Emulation has rightly been compared to piracy. It is difficult to argue that, in certain circumstances, they are not the same thing. The best way of defining right and wrong here is the simplest...if you buy it, you can play it, and play it wherever you want. It stands to reason, that if you didn't buy it, you can't play it, and you are breaking the law. The software publishers expect to be paid for their labours, which is fair enough, and have a right to protect their income. To do this, the major publishers have commissioned an independant body to act on their collective behalf. The Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) work within the boundaries of the law agreed by many countries to protect the 'copyright interests' of their members which include Virgin Interactive, Eidos and Sony amongst others. When you consider that some of these member companies now own the software houses we grew up with such as Atari and Ocean and therefore posess the copyright to these companies' entire back-catalogues, IDSA carries considerable clout. And they use it. IDSA will track down anyone and everyone illegally distributing software titles published by their members. With the backing of the law they can help bring about prosecution cases against transgressors or, as a settlement, accept a cessation of illegal activities. The sheer scope of the internet makes this difficult, so IDSA have sensibly concentrated on websites distributing the widest range of titles. In some cases they have managed to close down websites that, despite having several illegal titles available, have also operated in a legitimate capacity. The strongarm tactics employed by IDSA against hosting companies have not been well received but IDSA are remorseless in the defence of the interests of their members, a fact they quote continuously. The victims so far have been small fish in a vast ocean, and they have actually dropped away from the scene relatively unscathed. You can rest assured though, that IDSA will do everything they can to hammer nails in the coffin of any profiteers at the expense of, you guessed it: members interests Interesting???Like IDSA, I've mentioned it over and over again...but what are 'members interests?'Members of IDSA get extra points in the E3 space allocation system, as well as special rates on sponsorships, and help with marketing and merchandising for the show. They are also featured on IDSA ads throughout the show. Members also benefit from exclusive access to market research figures and to new research of consumer trends in the industry. The anti-piracy program is a major selling point to members but, most interestingly, members are offered the chance to "shape and disseminate the industry's views before federal and state lawmakers on issues of importance to your business, especially in the areas of copyright protection." Where emulation is concerned...members interests are copyright and intellectual property, which will be covered in-depth next month. The matter at hand...Business services aside, the entire anti-piracy program needs a little attention. Despite being based in the U.S. IDSA operate within the boundaries of international agreements in copyright law, which is the foundation of their anti-piracy program. They cannot enforce the law, but can and do instigate the legal proceedings against transgressors through investigation on a case-by-case basis. Scroaty Joe with a handful of naughty games will be leaned on and forced to cease illegal operations, but anyone found hammering the profit line of IDSA members will be tracked down and hauled before the courts. These activities are authorised by the members, and in addition to software, IDSA claims they are authorised to take action against "unauthorized hardware and software emulators."IDSA distinguish between the two, so they must be different. A hardware emulator would be very difficult to produce from scratch and IDSA would have a strong case to fight. This could be a typically vague approach from IDSA, as a program may mimic hardware functions. A software emulator though, is a very, very different beast. IDSA states thus: "... some programmers do use emulators to create games. However, programmers who are properly licensed to create games for a game console do so with the permission of the affected copyright owners. These authorized programmers, who often use specialized hardware emulators, create new, properly licensed video games with the authorization of the copyright owner." This is rock-solid. IDSA continues: "However, a very different situation is presented when someone uses the proprietary code in a game console 1 without the copyright owner's permission 2. In fact, most emulators that are freely available today are merely software emulators 3 that have no role in the creation of properly licensed video games; these emulators have the exclusive purpose of infringing copyrights 4 and are illegal 5." Lets blow this out of the water bit by bit.
IDSA then go on to say: While some emulators are made by hobbyist programmers, that does not mean that they are legal. If the sole purpose of an emulator is to allow the playing of a console game on a PC, and the owner of the copyrights in that console game has not authorized the copying, performance, display, or derivative work created when a console game is played on a PC, then the creation and use of that emulator constitutes an infringement of the copyrights in the console game. This can be answered easily. ROMZ aside, if you are using the original medium, you are not copying anything and you are not using a derived work. Performance and display issues relate to setting your equipment up in public and putting on a show...not very likely with a full PC setup is it now? It is the unprecedented popularity in console piracy that is threatening the entire emulation scene as we know it. The attention focused on bringing down the distributors of console ROMZ has exposed the availability of software for out-of-production computer systems such as the Spectrum and the Commodore 64. Despite being mostly legal due to distribution of the operating-system ROM files, sites containing games and other software for these systems are being closed down for having illegal titles available, but the fight is being carried to IDSA and it's members.. The IDSA website, despite being out of date, quite badly it is fair to say (the E3 is yet to happen and there is nothing about Bleem!), is worth a visit. If nothing else you will understand the ethos and, in some places, you will grudgingly agree with what they have to say. They are quick to report that six online pirates were sued in the U.S. and you can read their announcement [here]. Sadly, there seems to be nothing about the U.S courts blocking a move to prevent Bleem being shown at the recent E3. The judge in the case is reported to have said that if Sony’s sales slip, it is because the Bleem technology is superior!!! Check out the [Bleem website]! There is an excellent article at [Gamespot] in which the Bleem president is interviewed...you'll be surprised with what you read! In the other corner...While there are no 'official' bodies fighting the cause of emulation, the nature of the online community is such that a growing collective is all that stands against the bullying regime of IDSA. They call it CLEAr. The Campaign to Leave Emulation Alone, plus an ‘r’ is dedicated to obtaining permission from the lawful copyright holders of old video games, computers and console systems, for the free distribution of such materials in connection with the purpose of emulation, without the waiving of their copyright, only that they allow free distribution, on the condition that no charges of any kind are levied by those distributing the materials. They are not proposing the distribution of system ROMs or games software for any hardware platform launched after 1990. If copyright holders are not prepared to allow free distribution in this way, then CLEAr proposes that they should license third parties to produce collections of their emulator-compatible game images on CDs, which could be sold freely, with profits going to the copyright holders. This is such a good idea that some companies have already reproduced original games for modern systems as they appeared in their original form. CLEAr are carrying the fight to IDSA and it's members and extensive details are available on their [webpage]. The primary objective of CLEAr is to persuade the copyright holders of old games to allow their free distribution for emulation use. It is an enormous task, the authors of the site are looking to the tens of thousands of emulation fans for support. There are several objectives in this campaign:
For the record, I was the development manager of the software house CIS, closed in 1997. We produced leisure, educational and edutainment software for the Mac, Amiga, Archimedes, Acorn and PC platforms. The copyrights were never sold on, though the source code remained the property of the original authors (which also includes me!). For the commercial products we released, I still call the shots on the copyright and I am more than happy for anyone and everyone to distribute and enjoy all CIS branded titles. The SpectrumAnd finally, almost, we come to our beloved little black box. Of course, the outcome also affects the supporters of the C64, MSX, Amstrad CPC and many, many other old systems, but that is another collection of stories altogether... As far as we are concerned, we want to play Spectrum games. We don't want our repositories swept away by some mis-informed, heavy-handed 'big-brother' organisation. Our emulators are safe and legal. Amstrad own the copyright on the operating system, and are happy with sensible use and distribution, which is fair enough. The problem is, some, maybe a lot, of the games we are playing are being distributed illegaly. Within the complexities of copyright mumbo-jumbo you have a cast-iron case if you own the original media. You are using a copy of your property and retaining the original as a protected archive master. You are using the copy on a single machine, or on a laptop as long as your main private machine is not in concurrent use, and the master copy is not being concurrently used on any other machine. Phew! If you downloaded the copy you call your backup, you have done nothing illegal yet...it is not yet illegal to own 'pirated' software. The site you downloaded the file from may be breaking the law, depending on the copyright status of the game in question. If the copyright holder (is there an echo in this room?) has given permission for distribution, everything is fine and dandy...in the absence of permission, the site may expect a visit from IDSA. I think it is worth pointing out that despite the demise of Dave's Classics thanks to IDSA, the World Of Spectrums' heart still beats as strongly as ever. Any publisher who objects to the free distribution of their old games ie Ultimate has their titles removed from the archive. In a nutshell, this attitude does not upset anyone, and everyone is happy...or are they? Jon Ritman, on the CLEAr site, states that a former director of Ocean gave verbal permission for the games Jon wrote to be distributed, and points out that this attitude may change. Jon also points out that Batman may be a different issue, due to the licensing and trademarks involved in the project. Ocean (who took over Imagine and it's back catalogue) and their back catalogue are owned by Infogrames, a member of IDSA. Distribution of the back catalogue is illegal and under the IDSA remit. The question of permission is a grey area, and could be challenged. So far so good! Similarly, US Gold and Domark are now owned by Eidos, another IDSA member. Ominous tidings indeed... Next month, for those still awake and interested I am digging through some background material on TRIPS (intellectual property) and the Berne Convention and how it affects the way forward for emulation. Thankfully...it will be brief... |
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