Google vs Oracle, and fair use of copyrighted code

[jojo_f]

Theoretically-- With Google winning in the US Supreme Court after pilfering 11,500 lines of code so they can better use Java on Android.. does anybody think this would set a precedent for legally using information from the Nintendo gigaleak to assist in making rom-editing tools or for recompilers like SM64-PC?

[Chronosplit]

This was more about fair use of Open Source Code, when it all comes down to it.  I wouldn't be surprised if there's something emulator devs would be heavily concerned about though.  Then again, I haven't read the whole thing yet.

But that's all besides what you're wondering about.  People tend to want to build their stuff right and the definition of right tends to include not using code from sources like the Gigaleak.  This isn't just Nintendo, take a look at Blood and why only one "source port" uses code from a certain leaked beta.

I'd imagine that anything else I would say would go back to any romsite thread with the same stuff everyone on RHDN's already said.

[jojo_f]

Yeah I don't know a lot of details, am not a developer, and coming from the [completely juvenile] level of "oh wouldn't it be cool if peeps can use that info to make new editors." Superficially the decision seems extremely broad, in that elements privately owned were taken and used without permission. It's shades of gray that differentiate it from "I will take this exclusive streaming show, transform it by putting on VHS, so now it can interface with a VCR, and sell a bunch of copies." Yet maybe the decision really is as narrow as implementing an API. Hopefully in the next few days there will be more news/analysis about it.

Contrast with the big lawsuit a couple years ago between the estate of Marvin Gaye & the authors of the song "Blurred Lines." Blurred Lines took some very basic musical elements like key, tempo and instrumentation--not sampling, not the same melody, different tonal mode--and was found to be infringing. Completely contradictory although I believe it was decided by a jury. In my opinion both of these cases had the wrong outcome, even if I childishly want some genius to make a good Link to the Past editor.

[Asaki]

This isn't just Nintendo, take a look at Blood and why only one "source port" uses code from a certain leaked beta.

I don't know who owns the rights these days, but one of my friends worked on one of the Blood remakes, and he said they talked to ex-Monolith guys who wanted to share the source code, they just didn't have it anymore.

[Chronosplit]

I don't know who owns the rights these days, but one of my friends worked on one of the Blood remakes, and he said they talked to ex-Monolith guys who wanted to share the source code, they just didn't have it anymore.

Blood's source code has a lot of odd stories attatched to it.  I even remember rumors of one of the creators purposely hoarding it to make his own source port?  I suspect that everyone who had it lost the source code though, because of what had to be done to make Fresh Supply.