Lockpick RCM is a tool that owners of a Nintendo Switch could previously use to “dump” copy protection keys from their games, i.e. write them to files and make them usable externally. Whether Nintendo’s action against the developers of Lockpick RCM, invoking the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the USA, is actually legal is anything but certain.
DRM key dumping is said to violate copyright law
That’s what Nintendo claims against it Lockpick RCM teamthat allows key dumping to circumvent copy protection measures in the form of TPM modules and thus violates the American DMCA. Ultimately, the problem arises that the developers of Lockpick now have to put their project on hold. This doesn’t bode well for the teams behind emulators like Skyline.
The developers of the switch emulator Skyline for Android have already announced that they are giving up their project with immediate effect. The development is now being stopped because it is currently no longer possible to continue the project due to the legal uncertainty. So far, we have been convinced that we are on legal territory, which is why the team’s Github repo should remain available.
As always, something about Nintendo’s approach is highly questionable. Lockpick RCM is only intended to let Switch owners retrieve the DRM keys on their own devices. Basically, this only allows for experiments on a small private scale, since each of the unique keys can only be used by a single device to then run a copy of a game in emulators like Skyline.
This means that Nintendo cannot actually claim that commercial piracy is made possible and that there is a violation of the DMCA. For the homebrew and emulation scene around the switch, Nintendo’s latest action against the mostly private and not exactly financially strong developers is certainly a hard blow, since they are once again using cannons to crack sparrows.
- Nintendo is cracking down on Switch emulators like Skyline.
- Lockpick RCM allows to retrieve DRM keys on own devices.
- Nintendo claims that this key bypass violates the DMCA.
- Skyline developers end project due to legal uncertainty.
- Lockpick is for small scale experimentation only.
- Nintendo’s approach is controversial because it affects private developers.
- Cannons on sparrows: Nintendo hits hard.
See also:
Gaming, Console, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, Controller, Switch, Nintendo Console, Nintendo Switch Online, Switch OLED
