Nintendo... wtf??

[hanouzz]

Forgive me if I am dumb, but I did not know this. Apparently, it's perfectly legal to modify a HAC-001/V1 Nintendo Switch console with the RCM payload injector software and the RCM Jig, but it is illegal if I were to hypothetically buy a modchip for my 2019 patched Switch? I'm sorry, I don't get the logic here. Any thoughts, anyone?

[Levent]

This depends on where you live.

[hanouzz]

2 minutes ago, Levent said:

This depends on where you live.

US

[YoungBlade]

Note: I am not a lawyer.

 

As far as I know, there aren't any cases where someone modified a patched Switch and actually went to court against Nintendo for it. Even the injunction filed by Nintendo against a seller of these chips wasn't actually the sort of case where it would establish case law - the defendant failed to respond, so Nintendo won by default judgment.

 

From my understanding, the reason that it is probably illegal is that there are provisions in the DMCA that make it illegal to circumvent copyright protections. However, I've never heard of an actual case where these laws have ever been successfully prosecuted against an individual who simply bought such a chip - that is not when it would become illegal. It would probably be illegal the moment that you used the chip to circumvent any form of DRM or other copyright protection, and it would probably be illegal to sell such a chip, but simply buying and having the chip is fine.

 

As for using the chip, even that isn't 100% for-sure illegal. The reason is that the DMCA isn't that clear on when circumvention would (if ever) be allowed. There is a provision in the law that mentions that nothing in the law "affect rights, remedies, limitations, or defenses to copyright infringement" - which means that you might be able to argue from a fair use perspective, or perhaps that your modification is simply a means of backing up information that doesn't violate copyright.

 

However, this is unclear, and intentionally so. Part of the reason is that, in any situation where this comes up, the major corporation always moves to settle out of court to avoid it actually setting a legal precedent. Nintendo absolutely does not want to take a lone individual to court over this, because even if there's a 90% chance that they win, there's a 10% chance that using a modchip as a form of a backup is deemed legal, and such modchips can then be sold freely.

 

All that to say, as far as I know, it is not illegal to own a modchip for your Switch, and it is only probably illegal for you to mod a patched Switch.

 

Again, I am not a lawyer. If you ever want to try your hand at this, I would recommend that you contact an actual lawyer familiar with DMCA case law so you can discuss your particular use case and whether it is potentially legal.

[saintlouisbagels]

Doing this your own unit has no impact on their $$$

Making comprehensive easy-to-use tools and distributing them DOES _{hypothetically} impact them.

 

It's kind of like the Flipper Zero problem. You can easily DIY all of the functions on your own with easy-to-source parts. But it's a whole different problem if you compile everything together into a neat package and GUI that requires 1% of the original intelligence to achieve the same effect.

[hanouzz]

5 hours ago, YoungBlade said:

Note: I am not a lawyer.

 

As far as I know, there aren't any cases where someone modified a patched Switch and actually went to court against Nintendo for it. Even the injunction filed by Nintendo against a seller of these chips wasn't actually the sort of case where it would establish case law - the defendant failed to respond, so Nintendo won by default judgment.

 

From my understanding, the reason that it is probably illegal is that there are provisions in the DMCA that make it illegal to circumvent copyright protections. However, I've never heard of an actual case where these laws have ever been successfully prosecuted against an individual who simply bought such a chip - that is not when it would become illegal. It would probably be illegal the moment that you used the chip to circumvent any form of DRM or other copyright protection, and it would probably be illegal to sell such a chip, but simply buying and having the chip is fine.

 

As for using the chip, even that isn't 100% for-sure illegal. The reason is that the DMCA isn't that clear on when circumvention would (if ever) be allowed. There is a provision in the law that mentions that nothing in the law "affect rights, remedies, limitations, or defenses to copyright infringement" - which means that you might be able to argue from a fair use perspective, or perhaps that your modification is simply a means of backing up information that doesn't violate copyright.

 

However, this is unclear, and intentionally so. Part of the reason is that, in any situation where this comes up, the major corporation always moves to settle out of court to avoid it actually setting a legal precedent. Nintendo absolutely does not want to take a lone individual to court over this, because even if there's a 90% chance that they win, there's a 10% chance that using a modchip as a form of a backup is deemed legal, and such modchips can then be sold freely.

 

All that to say, as far as I know, it is not illegal to own a modchip for your Switch, and it is only probably illegal for you to mod a patched Switch.

 

Again, I am not a lawyer. If you ever want to try your hand at this, I would recommend that you contact an actual lawyer familiar with DMCA case law so you can discuss your particular use case and whether it is potentially legal.

Interesting take, I might just have to wait a few years when Nintendo no longer cares about the Switch (if they EVER release a successor). Yes, I have a regular patched Switch from 2019, so not much fun there. But I was thinking of buying an OLED Switch for the larger display. I play the Switch in handheld mode like 90% of the time, so it would be of use, especially on electronics day at school when I'm playing splitscreen MK8DX with the boiz. But I'd want to Homebrew it since it would be just mine. It would be pretty close to the ultimate Switch in my eyes, since it has a larger screen and the option of Homebrew if I install a modchip, which is much better than the basic & boring Switch OS (just the OS, not necessarily the games) that makes me want a Wii U and New 2DS XL. Obviously not gonna try this right now, as being a teenager out by 350 + 10% sales tax + however much the modchip costed is not good. But I would eventually like to have a Homebrewed Switch OLED.

[hanouzz]

5 minutes ago, saintlouisbagels said:

Doing this your own unit has no impact on their $$$

Making comprehensive easy-to-use tools and distributing them DOES _{hypothetically} impact them.

 

It's kind of like the Flipper Zero problem. You can easily DIY all of the functions on your own with easy-to-source parts. But it's a whole different problem if you compile everything together into a neat package and GUI that requires 1% of the original intelligence to achieve the same effect.

So like installing a modchip to my own Switch is alright, but paying to install it to other's Switches would become a problem? Yeah that makes sense, I was reading about this happening to a whole group of people earlier today.