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Comment by summerlight | Hacker News Reader

> unlike prior emulators, Yuzu risks running afoul of DMCA anti-trafficking provisions for circumvention devices and software that uses circumvention devices

This is interesting, it'd be great to have a link to explain this matter more deeply.

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Sure. Just look up the DeCSS controversy which got the creator of a DVD ripping software arrested and barely avoiding extradition, or the 09 F9 controversy where the MPAA attempted to censor a number from the internet.

This provision in the DMCA has been most often used against developers of unauthorized DVD copying software, Blu-ray copying software, etc; and the force of the legal argument has been well proven previously. It nearly killed RealPlayer when they made unauthorized software for DVD playback.

You can also see this law invoked in Apple v Psystar; when Apple sued Psystar for circumventing protections in macOS to allow running macOS on non-Apple hardware. That lawsuit was dragged all the way to the final appeal to SCOTUS - and Psystar was shredded the whole way. Expect Apple v Psystar to come up in a Nintendo vs Yuzu lawsuit; because running macOS on unapproved hardware sounds awfully similar to running games on unapproved hardware.

If Nintendo were to succeed invoking it here - emulation would be legal. Decrypting games would be illegal. Consoles before, say, the Wii (IIRC) would be free to emulate due to not being encrypted - but newer games, being encrypted, would be off-limits just like DVDs.

That was one of the few times, when I can look back and feel like the user has won. It has been something of a steady decline since.

I would love for some clear indication that we have some digital rights left, but I am not certain the same reaction would not be possible to be replicated today.

I wonder if it would be possible to develop a Switch emulator without the ability to decrypt any games. Users would be expected to bring already-decrypted games, which they could decrypt via an "unrelated" program.

You already have to provide your own encryption keys to the emulator.

Yes, but then it (presumably) decrypts the games for you, which could violate the DMCA.

There is some overlap with that case, but also some major differences. Psystar was distributing computers with a modified version of Mac OS X preinstalled, whereas Yuzu is not modifying or distributing any Nintendo-copyrighted materials. However, Psystar was also charged with violating DMCA section 1201(a), the section dealing with creating copyright circumvention devices, and Yuzu could potentially be found in violation of that.

However, Yuzu requires that you bring your own decryption keys obtained from your own Switch device; it cannot circumvent copy protections without that. The only circumvention code included in Yuzu is basically just standard 128-bit XTS-AES decryption code; it seems like a ruling that makes that code illegal to distribute would be a bad idea.

Psystar order granting permanent injunction: http://www.groklaw.net/pdf2/Psystar-242.pdf

DMCA 1201(a): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1201

Yuzu's crypto code: https://github.com/yuzu-emu/yuzu/tree/master/src/core/crypto

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