The European Court of Justice recently issued a ruling that could significantly impact the gaming sector. The court found that a piece of software sold by UK-based firm, Datel, does not violate EU copyright laws. This software enables unlimited boosts in a racing game.
This ruling could have significant implications for the gaming industry, particularly regarding third-party add-ons for games on platforms like Sony PlayStation. These add-ons, which provide players with additional options, do not infringe upon EU copyright law, according to the court’s decision.
The case against Sony, a video game giant, is seen as a pivotal moment for the gaming modding ecosystem, a market worth hundreds of millions. The ruling stated that the directive on the legal protection of computer programs does not permit the holder of that protection to prohibit the marketing of a third-party software that simply alters variables temporarily transferred to working memory.
The court further explained that the directive only protects the intellectual creation that is reflected in the text of the computer program’s source code and object code. Datel, the UK-based company, sold software that allowed gamers to gain infinite boosts in the racing game MotorStorm, and control the console using a motion sensor.
The question put to the judges in Luxembourg was whether this infringed upon 2009 EU game copyright laws. Datel’s add-ons do not alter the source code, but merely change variables running in the working memory, and this was the basis of their decision.
Sony had contended that Datel’s software acts parasitically, latching onto the PlayStation game. However, in a non-binding opinion prepared for the EU court in April, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar stated that there was nothing illegal about using a copyrighted work contrary to the creator’s intentions.
Many in the gaming community have criticised Sony’s attempts to control how others modify its products, a practice which underpins a significant portion of the gaming ecosystem. Gaming activist Ross Scott argued that modifying PlayStation games is akin to adding highlights to a book or changing the wheels on a car, and that allowing users to cheat on a single-player game is a “victimless crime”.
Scott also launched a separate EU petition aimed at preventing game companies from ending support for online-only games, thus depriving customers of their product. The petition, initiated after Ubisoft, a French company, discontinued support for The Crew, an online-only racing game with approximately 12 million players, has garnered over 370,000 signatures.
Scott warned that a more expansive interpretation of copyright laws, similar to Sony’s, could threaten a broad range of software. He cited the example of popular games like Fortnite, which have evolved from older antecedents and contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the industry.
