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Apple Further Explains Why Game Boy Emulator iGBA Was Removed From App Store
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No. An emulator is a software package designed to allow a specific platform (the host platform) to behave like another platform (the guest platform) for purposes of enabling applications originally designed for the guest platform to run on the host platform.
Outside using illegal means to create the emulator, emulators generally fully legal precisely because they are not a copy of something made by someone else but are rather a newly created means of replicating the environment that was previously created elsewhere. On the other hand, the roms that run on emulators are generally not legal (to the extent the underlying application is covered by valid legal protections) because -- unlike an emulator -- they are a cracked or pirated copy (rather than recreation) or someone else's protected work.
The nuances are confusing -- but also extremely important -- in the realm of emulation, and the gray areas are much more complex than my explanation above (for example, there are numerous edge cases that involve reverse engineering and key extraction -- like Yuzu which requires a valid Switch encryption key -- that muddy the waters quite a bit).
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No not all. An emulator simply allows the computer to operate as if it were a different computer. And they have been legal for years, thanks in part to Apple of all things. They promoted a piece of software that let you play PlayStation games on your G3 iMac. In the ensuing court battle, the emulator won. That battle has been the legal basis for emulators ever since.
I think the bigger issue was this was clearly a spammy, ad-laden, tracking heavy cash grab using the work of other people. Because GBA4iOS is open source, the person/people submitting it to Apple could technically do that, but the creator requested that people ask for permission first before submitting it to the App Store. Whether he should be able to do that is a different question, but it was likely enough of a reason for Apple to remove the copy and spammy app.
The original is open source under the GPL license. Copies are authorized by definition. The one thing they missed is including a copy of the license and publishing their source modifications. And that’s something Apple could well have noticed during initial review, if they care about those things. Apple should explain what exactly they think is unauthorized.
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You mean, like half of the app store? At least this app started with a screen that let you disable tracking. And the app store is full of ad-monetized apps making use of open-source libraries. That doesn’t seem to bother Apple all that much.
What this really shows is that Apple doesn’t have clear, predictable and consistently enforced app policies, but that they instead decide in an ad-hoc and publicity-driven manner.
Just look at the trash on the Apple App Store...amongst the gems, the good stuff from Apple, Microsoft, known brands and companies you have on the high street... is a boat load of trash apps.
I still trust the App Store, because if something gos wrong... Apple can fix it... most of the time. And likewise here.. they become aware of something and take action. And we all know about it.
Always better now, than never.
I still trust the App Store, because if something gos wrong... Apple can fix it... most of the time. And likewise here.. they become aware of something and take action. And we all know about it.
Always better now, than never.
A game emulator is not a ROM/pirated game though.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in Sony vs Connectix that emulators are legal.
Sony Computer Entertainment America v. Bleem, 214 F.3d 1022 | Casetext Search + Citator
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We have already ruled that the emulator is not a violation of the copyright laws. See Connectix, 203 F.3d at 607.
Emulators are not illegal and I dont think Apple in any way decides what ROMs you have are legal or not.
But they are just open to so much abuse.
How would you feel if someone stole your hard work? And you lost your job because of that lost revenue.
There really needs to be a government action on what's legal and what's not to really clear up this minefield. I think some games are so old and ownership is lost that organisations that are government owned and ran set up as an official archive... just like other forms of art. Preservation is the goal, not piracy.
Except the GPL license is incompatible with the App Store because of the required DRM. Hence, the author's decision to require written permission to distribute on the App Store.
Nintendo wants you to buy their hardware to access their games. They will never do this
The argument that something can be used to abuse copyrights keeps coming up, yet the argument keeps getting struck down.
Media companies tried to ban VCR's because they could be used to record TV programming. But luckily for users, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of consumers and fair use.
Supreme Court Rules 5 to 4
www.washingtonpost.com
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that it is legal to tape television programs for home viewing, rejecting the contention of the entertainment industry that viewers who tape TV programs are stealing copyright material.
The long-awaited 5-to-4 decision was a shocking and costly defeat for studios, producers, writers and distributors of television programming in one of the most bitterly contested Supreme Court cases in years.
Led by Walt Disney and Universal City Studios, the entertainment industry had persuaded an appeals court that the copying of programs and the sale of recorders was illegal.
It was an unequivocal triumph for the Sony Corp., the target in yesterday's case, and for other manufacturers and distributors of videocassete recorders
The courts have ruled many times over that copyright infringement is not theft.
It’s GPL v2, not v3, and hence has no DRM clause. The author’s clause is not valid IMO, because they are restricting the distribution in a way that GPL doesn’t allow. It’s exactly the point of the GPL to prevent such a restriction.
Only consoles? I really want the Amiga emulator. FSUAE, Amiberry, any of them.
Wile I agree with the stolen part, it is not Apple's work to decide what I own or not.
Let's close the internet as you can find everything stolen there....
I mean Apple has the right to protect their platform and do as much as possible to avoid people exploring the system, but, this is getting to a point they suspect of people without even having proof.
Just cause I can run a pirated thing on my iPhone doesn't mean I will, and you can't be the piracy police.
Is it illegal to use rom? NO it is not, so they are proactively cutting rom our just because I could use an unofficial rom...
Roms does not equal to piracy, internet does not equal to piracy, Apple does not equal "guardians of the galaxy".
I bought an Analogue pocket because I like to play physical version I own, but guess what? there are physical copies as well.. So should we ban analogue as well because people might or might not use unofficial cards?
Probably because they want you to do it via a Nintendo device and buy from their store directly.
An actual question for people familiar with the issue:
What's the situation if I still own the CD-ROM or cartridge version of a game, and my console doesn't work anymore because the AV cables are not compatible with my TV screen? Could I download a ROM copy of my physical game to play within an emulator in my iPhone or MacBook? If we were talking about music, no way you could do that. You'd have to buy it again in the new format/media. Is it different with video games?
What's the situation if I still own the CD-ROM or cartridge version of a game, and my console doesn't work anymore because the AV cables are not compatible with my TV screen? Could I download a ROM copy of my physical game to play within an emulator in my iPhone or MacBook? If we were talking about music, no way you could do that. You'd have to buy it again in the new format/media. Is it different with video games?
Why are people reaching out to Nintendo? Emulators have always been available on all platfROMs… iOS was the odd exception. The major ROM hosting websites from 20+ years ago are even still in opredation so obviously no one can go after them…
Nope. GPL v2 requires that any copies distributed under the license cannot further restrict the rights of the recipient.
Of course it's valid. He has a write to distribute copies outside of the GPL as the original author..
Now, just imagine each of these, and more, copied onto all the third party app stores in the EU. Happy times!That hasn't stopped Apple from approving and still leaving available for download a bunch of other ripoff apps
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This is achieved by publishing the source code, or making it available upon request. Otherwise no GPL code could be used in apps.
The author of the original app is not the author of the GPL code he based his app on. He therefore can’t distribute his derived work under an incompatible license.
I think this is poor form from Mr Testut. This kind of gatekeeping is against the spirit of open-source.
For instance, in his project, he notes the emulator core is "based on" VBA-M. If the authors of VBA-M had restricted the ways he could use their code, none of this would have even been possible. And VBA-M is a fork of another emulator called VBA (actually, there were several forks of VBA, and VBA-M merged them all together), but if the authors of VBA had restricted the ways others could use their code, etc...
He's likely just annoyed that others are making money from his work. If that's the case, I expect every open-source contributor to the projects I mentioned above to also get a cut once Testut inevitably releases his own for-profit emulator (it can't be free if he launches it on an alternative AppStore due to the CTF).
For instance, in his project, he notes the emulator core is "based on" VBA-M. If the authors of VBA-M had restricted the ways he could use their code, none of this would have even been possible. And VBA-M is a fork of another emulator called VBA (actually, there were several forks of VBA, and VBA-M merged them all together), but if the authors of VBA had restricted the ways others could use their code, etc...
He's likely just annoyed that others are making money from his work. If that's the case, I expect every open-source contributor to the projects I mentioned above to also get a cut once Testut inevitably releases his own for-profit emulator (it can't be free if he launches it on an alternative AppStore due to the CTF).