Nintendo of America is suing the creators behind the Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu, claiming their tech facilitates piracy.
New documents filed Monday, February 26 reveal that videogame giant Nintendo is taking action against the creators of the popular emulator tool Yuzu.
The copyright infringement filing, from Nintendo of America, states that the Yuzu tool (from developer Tropic Haze LLC) illegally circumvents the software encryption and copyright protection systems of Nintendo Switch titles, and thus facilitates piracy and infringes copyright under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Nintendo alleges that Tropic Haze's free Yuzu emulator tool unlawfully allows pirated Switch games to be played on PCs and other devices, bypassing Nintendo's protection measures.
The official Yuzu website suggests that the tool is to be used with software you yourself own: "You are legally required to dump your games from your Nintendo Switch" — but it's common knowledge, that this is not how these tools are primarily used.
The legal document claims that over a million copies of last year's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom were downloaded prior to the game's official retail release.
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Additionally, Nintendo's filing points to the success of Yuzu's Patreon page, highlighting how the project is actively supported by over 7,000 members. At time of writing, the Yuzu Patreon currently brings in close to $30,000 USD per month. Nintendo's filing alludes that this Patreon page has been actively engaged in promoting the emulator, and thus by extension piracy.
Emulator tools aren't inherently illegal, but the way in which Yuzu is being actively used and promoted is what Nintendo appears to be objecting to here.
As a result, Nintendo is now seeking a trial by jury, damages, and is demanding that the Yuzu emulator is shut down.
Via: Stephen Totilo of Game File
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