Makers of Switch emulator Yuzu crushed quickly by Nintendo

Tropic Haze, the popular Yuzu Nintendo Switch emulator developer, appears to have agreed to settle Nintendo’s lawsuit against it. Less than a week after Nintendo filed the legal action, accusing the emulator’s creators of “piracy at a colossal scale,” a joint final judgment and permanent injunction filed Tuesday says Tropic Haze has agreed to pay Read more about Makers of Switch emulator Yuzu crushed quickly by Nintendo[…]

Apple reverses hissy fit decision to remove Home Screen web apps in EU

Apple has reversed its decision to limit the functionality of Home Screen web apps in Europe following an outcry from the developer community and the prospect of further investigation. “We have received requests to continue to offer support for Home Screen web apps in iOS, therefore we will continue to offer the existing Home Screen Read more about Apple reverses hissy fit decision to remove Home Screen web apps in EU[…]

Copyright Bot Can’t Tell The Difference Between Star Trek Ship And Adult Film Actress

Given that the overwhelming majority of DMCA takedown notices are generated by copyright bots that are only moderately good at their job, at best, perhaps it’s not terribly surprising that these bots keep finding new and interesting ways to cause collateral damage unintentionally. […] a Tumblr site, called “Mapping La Sirena.” If you’re a fan Read more about Copyright Bot Can’t Tell The Difference Between Star Trek Ship And Adult Film Actress[…]

Capcom: PC Game Mods Are Essentially Just Cheats By A Different Name – uhm… what’s wrong with cheats (if it’s offline)?

It truly is amazing that the video game industry is so heavily divided on the topic of user-made game mods. I truly don’t understand it. My take has always been very simple: mods are good for gamers and even better for game makers. Why? Simple, mods serve to extend the useful life of video games Read more about Capcom: PC Game Mods Are Essentially Just Cheats By A Different Name – uhm… what’s wrong with cheats (if it’s offline)?[…]

TV Museum Will Die in 48 Hours Unless Sony Retracts YouTube Copyright Strikes on 40 – 60 year old TV shows

Rick Klein and his team have been preserving TV adverts, forgotten tapes, and decades-old TV programming for years. Now operating as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, the Museum of Classic Chicago Television has called YouTube home since 2007. However, copyright notices sent on behalf of Sony, protecting TV shows between 40 and 60 years old, could shut Read more about TV Museum Will Die in 48 Hours Unless Sony Retracts YouTube Copyright Strikes on 40 – 60 year old TV shows[…]

OpenAI disputes authors’ claims that every ChatGPT response is a derivative work, it’s transformative

This week, OpenAI finally responded to a pair of nearly identical class-action lawsuits from book authors […] In OpenAI’s motion to dismiss (filed in both lawsuits), the company asked a US district court in California to toss all but one claim alleging direct copyright infringement, which OpenAI hopes to defeat at “a later stage of Read more about OpenAI disputes authors’ claims that every ChatGPT response is a derivative work, it’s transformative[…]

One Fan Ports Abandoned PS1 Classic ‘WipeOut’, Tells Sony To either let it be or make it available for the world again. Sony will because copyright and assholes.

More and more, as the video game industry matures, we find ourselves talking about game preservation and the disappearing culture of some older games as the original publishers abandon them. Often times leaving the public with no actual legit method for purchasing these old games, copyright law conspires with the situation to also prevent the Read more about One Fan Ports Abandoned PS1 Classic ‘WipeOut’, Tells Sony To either let it be or make it available for the world again. Sony will because copyright and assholes.[…]

An Alarming 87 Percent Of Retro Games Are Being Lost To Time

[…] The Video Game History Foundation (VGHF) partnered with the Software Preservation Network, an organization intent on advancing software preservation through collective action, to release a report on the disappearance of classic video games. “Classic” in this case has been defined as all games released before 2010, which the VGHF noted is the “year when Read more about An Alarming 87 Percent Of Retro Games Are Being Lost To Time[…]

Google bans Downloader app after TV firms complain it can load a pirate website – Firefox, Opera, IE, Chrome, Safari: look out!

The Google Play Store suspended an app that combines a web browser with a file manager after a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaint pointed out that the app is capable of loading a piracy website—even though that same pirate website can be loaded on any standard browser, including Google Chrome. The free app, which Read more about Google bans Downloader app after TV firms complain it can load a pirate website – Firefox, Opera, IE, Chrome, Safari: look out![…]

OpenAI Threatens Popular GitHub Project With Lawsuit Over API Use

Anyone can use ChatGPT for free, but if you want to use GPT4, the latest language model, you have to either pay for ChatGPT Plus, pay for access to OpenAI’s API, or find another site that has incorporated GPT4 into its own free chatbot. There are sites that use OpenAI such as Forefront (opens in Read more about OpenAI Threatens Popular GitHub Project With Lawsuit Over API Use[…]

Bungie Somehow Wins $12 Million In Destiny 2 Anti-Cheat Lawsuit

As Bungie continues on its warpath against Destiny 2 cheaters, the studio has won $12 million in the lawsuit against Romanian cheat seller Mihai Claudiu-Florentin that began back in 2021. Claudiu-Florentin sold cheat software at VeteranCheats, which allowed users to get an edge over other players with software that could do things like tweak their Read more about Bungie Somehow Wins $12 Million In Destiny 2 Anti-Cheat Lawsuit[…]

Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot Sued Over ‘Software Piracy on an Unprecedented Scale’

“Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot is being sued in a class action lawsuit that claims the AI product is committing software piracy on an unprecedented scale,” reports IT Pro. Programmer/designer Matthew Butterick filed the case Thursday in San Francisco, saying it was on behalf of millions of GitHub users potentially affected by the $10-a-month Copilot service: The Read more about Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot Sued Over ‘Software Piracy on an Unprecedented Scale’[…]

Judge Ruling That YouTube Ripping Tool May Violate Copyright Law goes nuts on argumentation

There are a number of different tools out there that let you download YouTube videos. These tools are incredibly useful for a number of reasons and should be seen as obviously legal in the same manner that home video recording devices were declared legal by the Supreme Court, because they have substantial non-infringing uses. But, Read more about Judge Ruling That YouTube Ripping Tool May Violate Copyright Law goes nuts on argumentation[…]

Enjoy Digital Ownership And Public Libraries While You Still Can – the rental model is coming for you

Michael E. Karpeles, Program Lead on OpenLibrary.org at the Internet Archive, spotted an interesting blog post by Michael Kozlowski, the editor-in-chief of Good e-Reader. It concerns Amazon and its audiobook division, Audible: Amazon owned Audible ceased selling individual audiobooks through their Android app from Google Play a couple of weeks ago. This will prevent anyone from buying Read more about Enjoy Digital Ownership And Public Libraries While You Still Can – the rental model is coming for you[…]

Bungie lawsuit aims to unmask YouTube copyright claim abusers

YouTube’s copyright claim system has been repeatedly abused for bogus takedown requests, and Bungie has had enough. TorrentFreak reports the game studio has sued 10 anonymous people for allegedly leveling false Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claims against a host of Destiny 2 creators on YouTube, and even Bungie itself. The company said the culprits Read more about Bungie lawsuit aims to unmask YouTube copyright claim abusers[…]

2K’s GTA Trilogy Pulled For PC, And Rockstar Launcher Is Broken

Something has gone very, very wrong since yesterday’s launch of GTA Trilogy on PC. As of last night, all mention of a PC version has been removed from Rockstar’s own site, and the Rockstar Games Launcher app has gone completely offline. Anyone who bought the remastered collection before it vanished is currently unable to play. Read more about 2K’s GTA Trilogy Pulled For PC, And Rockstar Launcher Is Broken[…]

GTA Trilogy Remaster Not Worth The Lost Mods And Classic Games

After months of rumors, speculation, leaks, and teasers, Rockstar finally released the remastered Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition collection yesterday. It landed with a thud as players encountered and documented countless visual bugs, gameplay glitches, and odd changes to models and textures. Even viewed in a vacuum, this state of affairs is Read more about GTA Trilogy Remaster Not Worth The Lost Mods And Classic Games[…]

Nintendo Killed Emulation Sites Then Released Garbage N64 Games For The Switch

[…] You will recall that a couple of years back, Nintendo opened up a new front on its constant IP wars by going after ROM and emulation sites. That caused plenty of sites to simply shut themselves down, but Nintendo also made a point of getting some scalps to hang on its belt, most famously Read more about Nintendo Killed Emulation Sites Then Released Garbage N64 Games For The Switch[…]

Ig Nobel Prizes blocked by YouTube takedown over 1914 song snippet – can’t find human to fix the error

YouTube, the Ig Nobel Prizes, and the Year 1914 YouTube’s notorious takedown algorithms are blocking the video of the 2021 Ig Nobel Prize ceremony. We have so far been unable to find a human at YouTube who can fix that. We recommend that you watch the identical recording on Vimeo. The Fatal Song This is Read more about Ig Nobel Prizes blocked by YouTube takedown over 1914 song snippet – can’t find human to fix the error[…]

Huge GTA San Andreas Mod Because Of Take-Two Harassment

After months of Take-Two Interactive attacking and fighting GTA modders, the folks behind the long-in-development San Andreas mod, GTA Underground, have killed the project and removed it from the web over “increasing hostility” from Take-Two and fears of further legal problems. Over the last few months, Take-Two Interactive — the parent company of GTA devs Read more about Huge GTA San Andreas Mod Because Of Take-Two Harassment[…]

Bungie & Ubisoft Sue Destiny 2 Cheatmakers Ring-1 For Copyright Infringement

Bungie and Ubisoft have filed a lawsuit against five individuals said to be behind Ring-1, the claimed creator and distributor of cheat software targeting Destiny and Rainbox Six Seige. Among other offenses the gaming companies allege copyright infringement and trafficking in circumvention devices, estimating damages in the millions of dollars. […] Filed in a California Read more about Bungie & Ubisoft Sue Destiny 2 Cheatmakers Ring-1 For Copyright Infringement[…]

European Commission Betrays Internet Users By Cravenly Introducing Huge Loophole For Copyright Companies In Upload Filter Guidance

As a recent Techdirt article noted, the European Commission was obliged to issue “guidance” on how to implement the infamous Article 17 upload filters required by the EU’s Copyright Directive. It delayed doing so, evidently hoping that the adviser to the EU’s top court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), would release Read more about European Commission Betrays Internet Users By Cravenly Introducing Huge Loophole For Copyright Companies In Upload Filter Guidance[…]

Google Asked to Hide TorrentFreak Article Reporting that ‘The Mandalorian’ Was Widely Pirated

Google was asked to remove a TorrentFreak article from its search results this week. The article in question reported that “The Mandalorian” was the most pirated TV show of 2020. This notice claims to identify several problematic URLs that allegedly infringe the copyrights of Disney’s hit series The Mandalorian. This is not unexpected, as The Read more about Google Asked to Hide TorrentFreak Article Reporting that ‘The Mandalorian’ Was Widely Pirated[…]

Content Moderation Case Study: SoundCloud Combats Piracy By Giving Universal Music The Power To Remove Uploads (2014)

n most cases, allegedly infringing content is removed at the request of rights holders following the normal DMCA takedown process. A DMCA notice is issued and the site responds by removing the content and — in some cases — allowing the uploader to challenge the takedown. SoundCloud has positioned itself as a host of user-created Read more about Content Moderation Case Study: SoundCloud Combats Piracy By Giving Universal Music The Power To Remove Uploads (2014)[…]

Proposed U.S. Law Could Slap Twitch Streamers With Felonies For Broadcasting Copyrighted Material

According to Politico offshoot Protocol, the felony streaming proposal is the work of Republican senator Thom Tillis, who has backed similar proposals previously. It is more or less exactly what it sounds like: A proposal to turn unauthorized commercial streaming of copyrighted material—progressive policy publication The American Prospect specifically points to examples like “an album Read more about Proposed U.S. Law Could Slap Twitch Streamers With Felonies For Broadcasting Copyrighted Material[…]