The argument there is if a game is left online with no studio to care for it then they believe they would be liable for community content.
I don’t think it applies to offline games at all.
Comment on The signatures are still coming and it's already making an impact
Natanael@infosec.pub 21 hours agoAnd “would leave rights holders liable” is completely false, no game would have offline modes if it did
lazynooblet@lazysoci.al 21 hours ago
Bravo@eviltoast.org 20 hours ago
If server code is released such that people can run private servers after the official servers are shut down, then legally the people running the servers should be the ones liable for illegal activity that happens on them.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 20 hours ago
I could imagine third-party companies springing up whose entire business model is JUST providing unofficial servers for discontinued games and moderating them
That kind of already exists, you can buy hosting for Minecraft and other games. AFAIK, moderation isn’t a part of it, but many private groups exist that run public servers and manage their own moderation. It exists already, and that should absolutely be brought up as a bill is being considered.
Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 20 hours ago
We have had that exact model for decades. Hosting companies use to and probably still offer rack space for arena shooters. The main company managed the master server, which was just a listing of IP addresses, but there were only ever a few official game servers with defaults loaded.
psud@aussie.zone 16 hours ago
Minecraft has private servers (at least on Minecraft java) as well as their own server platform “Realms”, also every client is also a server. Though the authentication system is a Microsoft account so that’s likely to still be online well into the future
Natanael@infosec.pub 18 hours ago
Only applicable if they run the servers themselves, not if they let others run their own servers.
Lv_InSaNe_vL@lemmy.world 20 hours ago
I understood that from a IP and trademark stand point. It could be hard to retain your copyright or trademark if you are no longer controlling a product
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 20 hours ago
They retain copyright based on existing law, and trademark is irrelevant since it’s defended in courts, not EULAs.
Natanael@infosec.pub 18 hours ago
No, copyright isn’t relinquished from any of that (not even any effect on damages if you still require players to have bought the game to use the private servers), and trademarks wouldn’t be affected at all if you simply require that 3rd party servers are marked as unofficial
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 20 hours ago
Exactly, and that also includes online games like Minecraft. Nobody is going to sue Microsoft because of what someone said or did in a private Minecraft server, though they might if it’s a Microsoft hosted one.