European Court Rules in Favor of Game Modding
The European Court of Justice has made a significant ruling regarding third-party add-ons for Sony PlayStation games, stating that these modifications do not violate EU copyright law. This landmark decision is pivotal for the gaming modding community, which is valued at hundreds of millions of euros.
According to the court’s statement, “The Directive on the legal protection of computer programs does not allow the holder of that protection to prohibit the marketing by a third party of software which merely changes variables transferred temporarily to working memory.” The judges clarified that copyright protection is strictly limited to the intellectual creation as reflected in the computer program’s source code and object code.
The case centered around Datel, a UK-based company that produced software enabling players to gain infinite boosts in the racing game MotorStorm and control their consoles using motion sensors. The court was tasked with determining whether these actions infringed upon 2009 EU copyright laws. Notably, Datel’s add-ons do not modify the source code; they only alter variables that operate in the working memory of the games.
Sony contended that Datel’s software “latches on … like a parasite” to its games. However, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar, in a non-binding opinion issued in April, argued that utilizing a copyrighted work contrary to the creator’s intentions is not inherently illegal. He illustrated his point with a metaphor: “The author of a detective novel cannot prevent the reader from skipping to the end of the novel to find out who the killer is, even if that would spoil the pleasure of reading and ruin the author’s efforts to maintain suspense.” This perspective aligns with the court’s decision against Sony.
Critics have accused Sony of overstepping its bounds in attempting to regulate how users modify its products, a practice that is integral to vast segments of the gaming industry. Gaming activist Ross Scott remarked, “In how many other industries would this be acceptable behavior?” He likened altering PlayStation games to adding highlights in a book or changing the wheels on a car, emphasizing that allowing users to cheat in single-player games is a “victimless crime.”
Scott also spearheads a separate EU petition aimed at preventing game companies from discontinuing online-only games, which would deprive consumers of their purchased products. This petition gained traction after Ubisoft, a French game developer, ceased support for The Crew, an online-only racing game boasting around 12 million players. The initiative has already garnered over 370,000 signatures, although Scott acknowledges that this number may not compel the European Commission to take action.
He further warned that a broader interpretation of copyright law, akin to Sony’s approach, could jeopardize a vast array of software on a larger scale. “If you were to take away every game that could trace its origins to modding, I’m sure it would amount to hundreds of millions of dollars,” he stated, referencing popular titles like Fortnite, which evolved from earlier gaming concepts.
As of now, representatives from both Sony and Datel have not provided comments regarding this pivotal ruling.
