Nintendo lawsuit accuses Switch emulator creators of 'piracy at a colossal scale'

Nintendo has filed a lawsuit against the creators of a popular Switch emulator called Yuzu, which gives users a way to play games developed for the platform on their PCs and Android devices. In the lawsuit shared by Game File's Stephen Totilo, the company argued that Yuzu violates the anti-circumvention and anti-trafficking provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). 

Nintendo explained that it protects its games with encryption and other security features meant to prevent people from playing pirated copies. Yuzu has the capability to defeat those security measures and to decrypt Nintendo games. "[W]ithout Yuzu's decryption of Nintendo's encryption, unauthorized copies of games could not be played on PCs or Android devices," the company wrote in its complaint. 

It's illegal to "circumvent technological measures put into place by copyright owners to protect against unlawful access to and copying of copyrighted works" under the DMCA, Nintendo continued. And distributing "software primarily designed to circumvent technological measures" also constitutes unlawful trafficking. The defendants are, thus, "facilitating piracy at a colossal scale," the lawsuit argued. This case could set a precedent for future lawsuits against emulators, which aren't illegal in and of them themselves. As Ars Technica notes, Nintendo's arguments are calling their very nature unlawful. 

To illustrate how much Yuzu has affected its business, Nintendo revealed in its complaint that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was illegally distributed a week and a half before its official release. It was apparently downloaded over a million times from pirated websites, which specifically noted that people can play the game file through Yuzu. The company also mentioned that Yuzu's creators are making money from their emulator. They're getting around $30,000 a month from their Patreon supporters and have earned around $50,000 from the paid version of their software on Google Play, so far. 

Nintendo is asking the court to stop Yuzu's creators from promoting and distributing the software. It's also asking for an unspecified amount in "equitable relief and damages."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nintendo-lawsuit-accuses-switch-emulator-creators-of-piracy-at-a-colossal-scale-093157736.html?src=rss https://www.engadget.com/nintendo-lawsuit-accuses-switch-emulator-creators-of-piracy-at-a-colossal-scale-093157736.html?src=rss
Vytvorené 1y | 28. 2. 2024, 10:20:13


Ak chcete pridať komentár, prihláste sa

Ostatné príspevky v tejto skupine

Prime Day deals on air fryers include $90 off one of our favorite Ninja machines

You may be spending more time outside during the summer, especially if you have a grill, but the gadgets in your kitchen will come in handy this season, too.

11. 7. 2025, 15:30:19 | Engadget
FBI seize well-known Nintendo Switch game piracy site

One of the most popular sites for Nintendo Switch piracy has been taken down as part of an ongoing FBI investigation. As reported by

11. 7. 2025, 15:30:17 | Engadget
The Morning After: First impressions of Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7 and the rest

It’s the summer, so that means Samsung foldables, wearables and awkward celebrity appearances. This year, the company introduced three new folding smartphones, but that didn’t include the rumored ‘

11. 7. 2025, 13:20:21 | Engadget
Engadget Podcast: Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 are a huge leap for foldables

Samsung has finally debuted its latest foldables (after plenty of leaks), and boy they sure look thin. This week, Engadget's Sam Rutherford joins us to chat about the

11. 7. 2025, 13:20:20 | Engadget