2024 was a big year for Nintendo’s emulator takedowns, with the likes of Yuzu and Ryujinx both biting the dust after facing the company’s wrath. Now, at a recent lecture hosted by Japan’s Association of Copyright for Computer Software, Nintendo lawyer Koji Nishiura has explained the technicalities of when an emulator is considered illegal and why the Big N has so many in the crosshairs.
As reported by Denfaminicogamer, Nishiura — the deputy general manager of Nintendo’s IP division and patent attorney — explained that there’s a difference in legality between the emulator itself and its uses: “While you can’t immediately claim that an emulator is illegal in itself, it can become illegal depending on how it’s used” (translated by Automaton).
One of the key uses that has set Nintendo’s alarm bells ringing in the past is when an emulator bypasses a console’s “technical prevention methods” like encryption, says Nishiura. If an emulator does away with specific security measures like this, it is in breach of Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act and you can expect a takedown to ensue.
Another sticking point is in how the emulator imitates a device. Copying a device’s specific programmes is a big no-no (not the legal term), according to Nishiura, and can constitute copyright infringement if it’s caught in the act. Similarly, if the emulator offers links to download pirated games, it can be considered a “reach app” and also be hit with copyright infringement.
According to Automaton, Nishiura referred to the issue of illegally downloading games as a problem for all developers, not just Nintendo — citing a 2009 lawsuit where the Big N was joined by 50 other parties to takedown the Game Backup Device, a tool used to download pirated DS games. This, Nishiura states, is another big reason for the repeated takedowns: Nintendo doesn’t want its software being played via illegal means, and it wants to extend that protection to its wider devs.
As a reminder, last year saw two high-profile emulator lawsuits from Nintendo. Yuzu and Citra creators TropicHaze were forced to cough up $2.4 million in damages and shut up shop in March, while Ryujinx was forced offline in October, with Nintendo officially taking ownership of the emulator’s domain a month later. The above stipulations suggest Nintendo is like a well-oiled machine with these takedowns now, so we wouldn’t expect these to be the last emulation lawsuits we see.
2024 was a big year for Nintendo's emulator takedowns, with the likes of Yuzu and Ryujinx both biting the dust after facing the company's wrath. Now, at a recent lecture hosted by Japan’s Association of Copyright for Computer Software, Nintendo lawyer Koji Nishiura has explained the technicalities of when an emulator is considered illegal and why the Big N has so many in the crosshairs.
As reported by Denfaminicogamer, Nishiura — the deputy general manager of Nintendo's IP division and patent attorney — explained that there's a difference in legality between the emulator itself and its uses: "While you can’t immediately claim that an emulator is illegal in itself, it can become illegal depending on how it’s used" (translated by Automaton).
One of the key uses that has set Nintendo's alarm bells ringing in the past is when an emulator bypasses a console's "technical prevention methods" like encryption, says Nishiura. If an emulator does away with specific security measures like this, it is in breach of Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act and you can expect a takedown to ensue.
Another sticking point is in how the emulator imitates a device. Copying a device's specific programmes is a big no-no (not the legal term), according to Nishiura, and can constitute copyright infringement if it's caught in the act. Similarly, if the emulator offers links to download pirated games, it can be considered a "reach app" and also be hit with copyright infringement.
According to Automaton, Nishiura referred to the issue of illegally downloading games as a problem for all developers, not just Nintendo — citing a 2009 lawsuit where the Big N was joined by 50 other parties to takedown the Game Backup Device, a tool used to download pirated DS games. This, Nishiura states, is another big reason for the repeated takedowns: Nintendo doesn't want its software being played via illegal means, and it wants to extend that protection to its wider devs.
As a reminder, last year saw two high-profile emulator lawsuits from Nintendo. Yuzu and Citra creators TropicHaze were forced to cough up $2.4 million in damages and shut up shop in March, while Ryujinx was forced offline in October, with Nintendo officially taking ownership of the emulator's domain a month later. The above stipulations suggest Nintendo is like a well-oiled machine with these takedowns now, so we wouldn't expect these to be the last emulation lawsuits we see.
