The U.S. Copyright Office denied adding an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that would have allowed libraries and archives to provide remote access to out-of-print video games.
Image: Ivan Rudoy (Unsplash)
The issue of contention was Section 1201 of the DMCA, which prohibits circumventing technological protections on software copying and the trafficking of technologies or services designed to bypass such restrictions.
For the past three years, the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF) in collaboration with the Software Preservation Network (SPN) has worked to expand this provision. This would have allowed libraries and archives to legally bypass restrictions and remotely provide access to out-of-print games for research and other purposes.
Last week, the Copyright Office ultimately rejected the activists' proposal, citing the opinion of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) among other reasons. Allegedly, VGHF and other proponents of preserving old games did not provide clear criteria for granting remote access to these products to certain users.
According to the ESA, there is also a substantial market for classic games and their re-releases, which could be threatened by the proposed exemption.
The VGHF called the officials' decision "disappointing," as game researchers today often have to resort to illegal methods to access the vast majority of out-of-print titles.
However, the organization added that they do not regret the time spent. The work on the petition also helped VGHF prepare a study that revealed 87% of classic video games are at risk of disappearing.