This server is now 100% legal!

Not quite.

This regulation and exemption only covers games that have servers that are used for authentication only, but all the content needed to play them is stored locally on the computer. Example: Phantasy Star Universe on the PC, which can be played completely offline, but you can't currently because SEGA's server's aren't up anymore for authentication.

This regulation does not make private servers for games legal. It's spelled out very clearly in the regulation, which you can read at http://copyright.gov/1201/2015/fedreg-p ... tionFR.pdf

(A) “Complete games” means video games that can be played by users without
accessing or reproducing copyrightable content stored or previously stored on an external
computer server.
(B) “Ceased to provide access” means that the copyright owner or its authorized
representative has either issued an affirmative statement indicating that external server
support for the video game has ended and such support is in fact no longer available or,
alternatively, server support has been discontinued for a period of at least six months;
provided, however, that server support has not since been restored.
(C) “Local gameplay” means gameplay conducted on a personal computer or video
game console, or locally connected personal computers or consoles, and not through an
online service or facility.
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A PSOBB server is illegal as it needs a server to play and not all the content (Battle Parameter files, etc.) is actually stored on the server and sent during login.

You can't just patch the PSOBB executable and play the game locally while unplugged from the network. It needs an external entity. Thus, still illegal.
 
Reverse engineering is legal in the US, though, so while making a private game server (as well as connecting to one) is a violation of PSO's TOS, it's still legal to do so. The grey area comes about when that server has Sega's original files integrated with it. This only applies to quests in V1/2/3, but the fact that a BB server has to host Sega's BattleParam and ItemPT/RT/PMT files makes it a bit less clear cut.
 
Kind of a dumb question but say...something like the PSU clementine project which is being remade from the ground up by Marmalade (this is me assuming a lot of it is his code and not filler like scht was from packet filtering). Does that have legality since its his own work and technically not Sega's? Or is it just a larger grey area because of that.
 
The use of packet logs doesn't really change anything; black-box reverse engineering is legal under US law. You'd only be in trouble if you were making a PSO server through white-box reverse engineering (using a stolen copy of Sega's server to write your own). None of the existing PSO servers use Sega's code, so they're all legal, at least if you don't distribute Sega's official quests with them.
 
By no means part of a legal document or anything, but might shed some light over that

Yet another common misconception is that if the owner of a copyright does not defend against infringements, then they lose their copyright forever. The idea of undefended loss is a concept from trademark law, under which you can lose your trademark if you no longer actively use it in the marketplace, or if you go out of business, or if you see infringements and do nothing about them. Copyright holders are not required to sue infringers in order to maintain their exclusive rights--copyright is never lost unless it is explicitly signed over to someone else or if it expires. Unlike the owners of trademarks, copyright owners are not required to actively market their works to the public or even to stay in business in order to maintain their protection.
 
falkenjeff said:
Another thing to note: breaking copyright law is only technically illegal if the person who owns the copyright enforces it.
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No, it is technically illegal to violate copyright law at all times. It doesn't matter if the copyright holder exercises its rights. A PSO server doesn't violate copyright law, though, so it doesn't matter.
 
Sodaboy said:
You can't just patch the PSOBB executable and play the game locally while unplugged from the network. It needs an external entity. Thus, still illegal.
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Can play it offline if you host local server lol
 
Face it, if SEGA had any money for lawyers, they'd also have money for PSO2 localization which they don't. Even if a PSO2 private server would be hosted while the official servers are still around, SEGA wouldn't even have what it takes to bring it down.
 
Don't say that... everybody knows PSO2 is still coming stateside!!! I mean, SEGA would have said they cancelled it instead of keeping the fucking website up at www.pso2.com acting like it's coming soon and shit.
 
Pretty sure a PSO2 private server would actually be attacked, because PSO2 is one of SEGA's biggest money makers currently. They wouldn't let that occur so easily.
 
10th anniversary still makes me lol
I think the SEA version was basically licensed out, so I have to admit that I'm just a litte surprised they didn't try to do the same here. Or maybe they did and nobodys willing to pay what they want.

(semi-related, but Schthack appears to have finally disappeared into the wayback machine...)
 
falkenjeff said:
Would be jokes if Christian bought back the domain and hosted random crazy non-pso-shit on it.
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I wish he'd come back to post his model viewer source code...
 
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