News

European Court: Circumventing Consoles' Restrictions Is Not Necessarily Illegal

The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in Luxembourg on Thursday that devices allowing users to play downloaded video and games on their Nintendo DS and Wii consoles are not necessarily illegal. Nintendo had argued that PC Box's device that allowed users to play MP3s and movies on their own consoles could circumvent copyright protections, thus allowing users to play pirated software. The court ruled that Nintendo is "protected against that circumvention only in the case where the protection measures seek to prevent illegal use of videogames."

The court otherwise ruled that the devices in and of themselves are not illegal if gamers are using it to view lawfully obtained material. The court also ruled that the devices' use by consumers must be looked into further by the Milan District Court.

Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip

[Via Gamespot]