The U.S. Copyright Office denied an exemption from the DMCA to allow gaming historians to access out-of-print games they can’t legally get.

The U.S. Copyright Office denied an exemption from the DMCA to allow gaming historians to access out-of-print games they can’t legally get anywhere else.

  • AnyOldName3@lemmy.worldEnglish
    65·
    20 days ago

    The arguments used to make the First Sale Doctrine apply to books a hundred years ago are equally applicable to games and other software, and consumers should demand they’re given the rights they deserve to use the copies of media they’ve paid for. You should be able to sell on a used video game once you’ve finished it, or lend it to a friend, just like you can with a book or a DVD.

    That said, the title’s a little misleading. Libraries only lend each copy of a book to one person at a time (if it’s a physical book, it’s pretty obvious that it can only be in one place at once), and the ruling the headline refers to says that a copy of a retro game can only be lent out to one person at once, which is understandable, even if it’s a massive pain when plenty of games don’t have many working copies left in circulation.

    • tacosanonymous@lemm.eeEnglish
      161·
      20 days ago

      This ruling seems insane since libraries can already lend new games. I think mine still has wiiu stuff.

      • kautau@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        20 days ago

        Yeah I mean if it was applied to books this is like saying that libraries shouldn’t be able to reprint out of print books and lend them out, which would be asinine. If a library has that capability they should be able to do so.

        • basmati@lemmus.orgEnglish
          21·
          20 days ago

          Nearly all public libraries already “lend out” ebooks and digital movies. There is no reason games should have an exemption.