DMCA exemption is required to keep "abandoned Onge" at service termination

byGlenn Carstens-Peters

Of online games that services endedDigital Millennium Copyright Law(DMCA) is exempted, some organizations and game fans are doing exercises to leave "already-finished games" for the future. If DMCA's exemption is granted, you will be able to save copies of online games that have been abandoned due to the termination of services at museums and libraries.

Gamers Want DMCA Exemption for 'Abandoned' Online Games - TorrentFreak
https://torrentfreak.com/gamers-want-dmca-exemption-for-abandoned-online-games-171221/


Just like most software, games also have a lifetime, and after several years from release, support from the manufacturers can not be received and the service will end. In order to preserve such games in future generations, there is a provision that DMCA will be exempted in the case of "to save games". In other words, it is possible to play games that have already been abandoned if you store data in a place like a museum or internet archive and use an emulator etc.

However, these exemptions are limited in scope and exemptions do not apply to games that require connections to online servers, including the latest games. In other words, if the service is terminated and the server stops, online games will disappear forever and no one can play. In order to prevent this, game fans and some organizations appeal to the US Copyright Office that DMCA exemption should also be applied to online games.

A nonprofit organization operating in CaliforniaThe MADE"The current exemption does not cover online games, but preserving online games is very important," commented on the copyright authority. In addition, "Online games are widely spreading and popularity is increasing more and more, for example, 53% of gamers are estimated to play online multiplayer games at least once a week, on average 6 I am playing with other players on time, online, "explaining how widely the online games were popular.

byCaspar Rubin

Similarly when updating the regulations of DMCA three years ago, the copyright office said that "Multiplayer games can be played on the local area network", exempting online games from DMCA It did not add to the range. However, many of the current online games do not support playing on the local area network, and some games require on-line connection even when they are playing alone.

While doing so, hundreds of online games have already been abandoned on the Internet, and DMCA exemption issues are more important topics than ever. "It is difficult to quantify the number of multi-player servers shut down in recent years, but Electronic Arts (EA)'s"Online Services Shutdown"The list is an example," says Public Knowledge, a nonprofit digital rights group.

In the list of games where EA's online service has endedFifaYaThe SimsAlso includes titles of popular game series such as. According to this list, EA has finished online game service of 319 titles from 2013 and it seems that pace is more than one title per week.

byAnnie Spratt