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Comment by petermcneeley | Hacker News Reader

What is the legality of emulating proprietary hardware like this?

Sony don't seem to mind anymore, considering the Playstation Classic console uses the opensource pcsx emulator:

https://www.dualshockers.com/playstation-classic-emulator-pc...

Sony doesn't seem to care about emulation of old systems. The reality is that old games doesn't bring in much money for them and the people who run emulators are a niche.

Piracy of the PS4 would get their attention.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_console_emulator#Le... has some notes and links to court cases.

TL;DR emulators are legal, as long as you use game files you have legally acquired by buying the game and dumping it yourself. Using game files from online is illegal.

It can be fine as well if it can legally be downloaded. For example, it's possible to get the official firmware directly from Sony or play some homebrew software.

And I'm sure it's possible to find some game demos as well.

They do have a tendency to chase after those who are emulating active systems as opposed to deprecated consoles.

Not even. There was an emulator for the Wii U while the console was still seeing new releases, and no "chasing" happened. Similarly, there are at least 2 Switch emulators in development, and I haven't heard of any legal trouble from their side. Same for the 3DS, etc.

There has been at least one case of such a lawsuit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleem!#Sony_lawsuit

Bleem was amazing. I remember the emulator itself had copy protection that baffled cracking groups for longer than anything I'd seen at the time.

It's a simulation, not a reproduction.

I don’t think the MPAA would look kindly upon your attempt to “simulate” a movie…

I think the distinction to make here is that in the case of RPCS3 it's more like creating a projector in software than recreating a film in software.

I can tell you that it is explicitly illegal to have the files you load into the emulator to play a certain game if you haven't purchased a copy of that game yourself.

Yes, I know the distinction; that's why I replied to the comment since I felt it was not an accurate portrayal of the situation.

But video players are legal.

Yes, as long as the media you put in it was legally acquired.

the video player stays legal no matter where the files it plays came from...

Yes, the video player is legal. What you’re doing with it is not legal.

What you or the video player is doing is not in itself illegal. The "illegal" part, if you want to use that terminology, is the purchasing and/or possession of an illegal copy of copyrighted material. The fact of copyright infringement doesn't magically emerge through the process of playing it.

There are not—as far as I'm aware—any laws against watching copyright infringing materials; intentional possession is the entirety of crime.

Interesting. Are there any rules against watching copyrighted materials you know were obtained illegally?

No. Copyright is about making a copy. It’s literally in the name: right to copy. A file downloaded illegally means someone made a copy without being authorized by the IP holder.

What you do with the copy is irrelevant.

There are 'performance rights' that are separate from the direct copyright infringement. i.e. if you buy a DVD legally and show it to your church's youth group, you'll be infringing on the performance rights. AFAIAA there isn't an 'enhanced' punishment if you got the IP illegally, just two separate offenses.

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