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[strange headache]

Nintendo had nothing to do with this though. Japan recently passed the Unfair Competition Prevention Act which essentially made the distribution of mods illegal. Doesn't matter if its for a single player game or even if you were distributing them for free.

That sounds insane. Got any more information on this?

 

[Iamborghini]

It’s hard to believe they would jail someone for selling mods WTF what are you doing Japan??

I’m thinking maybe it’s because he was making money and not sharing it with the authorities. You can be jailed for selling bread if you don’t pay taxes, so maybe it’s the reason.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

The devs behind cheatengine got into some trouble so they had to silo the program and the cheat code forums.

The industry should be going after hackers in online games not bother with harmless modifications of single player games SMDH.

 

[Fuz]

 

[Fuz]

The industry should be going after hackers in online games

I don't agree even with this (with the exception of professional e-sports competitions).
Those are fucking GAMES for god's sake.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Surprisingly people buy hacked stuff this puts fear in hackers around the world.

 

[Magos Librorum]

That's a very naïve view of a country that has a 99.9% conviction rate, has the power to detain people for months without a charge, punishes marihuana possession as harshly as heroin possession, and outright ignores Geneva convention laws on child abduction. Japan does not have a fair justice system.

Sigh, I hope people could stop using that misleading 99.9% conviction rate thing. There are lots of problem in Japan for sure, but the reason why they have 99.9% conviction rate is their prosecutors would only go with cases when they have 99% confidence that they can reach a conviction. If they are not confident, they would drop it and not go with an indictment. In fact, around 60 percent of criminal cases in Japan are dropped without an indictment.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Sigh, I hope people could stop using that misleading 99.9% conviction rate thing. There are lots of problem in Japan for sure, but the reason why they have 99.9% conviction rate is their prosecutors would only go with cases when they have 99% confidence that they can reach a conviction. If they are not confident, they would drop it and not go with an indictment. In fact, around 60 percent of criminal cases in Japan are dropped without an indictment.

That sounds like a fair assessment by Japanese prosecutors. Why go through all the hassle if evidence or chance of conviction is low.

In the US, lawyers will take anything to court.

 

[Derktron]

Imagine going to jail and they ask you what are you in for and you say you are in for selling a game save file from a video game.

 

[hemo memo]

Wow. Talk about ridiculous and from such developed country.

 

[Keihart]

When your country is so safe that the government has to come up with shitty excuses to keep the police working

This is just ridiculous

Funny thing is that, there is still a heavily dangerous underbelly in japan in the form mafia, drugs and what not that they still can't get rid of or maybe just don't want to.
Justice is weird in japan, some stats are really skewed because prosecutors don't go after crimes that don't seem safe enough to win.

 

[Robot Carnival]

what I want to know, is that if the guy wasn't selling the files, but just giving it away or sharing it, would they still go after him?

 

[truth777]

Must have been a tough take down. Nerds are extremely dangerous when cornered. I mean, look at this guy:

They’re also extremely dangerous when they have the finances and the ego to think that they can just manipulate nature as they see fit. Whether it’s GMO mosquitoes, the experiments in Africa, calling for population control through health care, or anything else he’s messed with lately, he is a real-life character from a Michael Crichton book.
It’s inevitably only a matter of time before the dinosaurs get out.

 

[Kadve]

That sounds insane. Got any more information on this?

This site explains it quite well, A (very brief) summarization:

Outline of Unfair Competition Prevention Act​

The Unfair Competition Prevention Act regulates infringement of trade secrets, unfair usage of a well-known sign, misleading representation regarding the place of origin, imitation of the configuration of a third party’s product, etc.

Revision of Unfair Competition Prevention Act​

In order to improve utilization of “data”, which can be an essential resource for company growth, METI revised the Unfair Competition Prevention Act in May 2018 toward efficient provision and utilization of data.

Overview regarding the revision of the Act in May 2018

• Defining the acts of unfair competition on “shared data with limited access” and providing civil remedies against the acts
• Enhancing regulation against the acts circumventing Technological Restriction Measures

About Trade Secret​

The Unfair Competition Prevention Act provides civil and criminal remedies in such cases where secret information of the company is stolen or disclosed illegaly. To protect information according to the Act, companies need to manage such data as “trade secrets”.

• Three requirements of trade secrets are as follows:

 

[ultrazilla]

I'm not reading walls of text but I'll say I find it OVERKILL for ANYONE to be arrested for selling save files. Games is one thing but save files? What a waste of law-enforcement
resources.

Jail conversation:

Skippy-"What are you in for?"

Tbone-"Murder and molesting save game modders"

Tbone-"You?"

Skippy-"Selling save game files for Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild."

Tbone:

 

[Porcile]

Sigh, I hope people could stop using that misleading 99.9% conviction rate thing. There are lots of problem in Japan for sure, but the reason why they have 99.9% conviction rate is their prosecutors would only go with cases when they have 99% confidence that they can reach a conviction. If they are not confident, they would drop it and not go with an indictment. In fact, around 60 percent of criminal cases in Japan are dropped without an indictment.

This is hardly worth a "sigh" or some kind of apologist stance for their bullshit conviction system which is often achieved by coercing confessions from people under extremely hostile circumstances. Let's just hope you don't end up on thr wrong side of the law out there dawg.

 

[BadBurger]

Does he sell save files with unbreakable weapons?!

Asking the real questions.

 

[Omega Supreme Holopsicon]

[remind me of this old news and facts]

Musicians Algorithmically Generate Every Possible Melody, Release Them to Public Domain​

"Under copyright law, numbers are facts, and under copyright law, facts either have thin copyright, almost no copyright, or no copyright at all," Riehl explained in the talk. "So maybe if these numbers have existed since the beginning of time and we're just plucking them out, maybe melodies are just math, which is just facts, which is not copyrightable."

Musicians Algorithmically Generate Every Possible Melody, Release Them to Public Domain (vice.com)

With enough computation and storage capacity the same could easily be done for other domains such as images. Hint computers store everything as numbers or binary patterns, essentially integers.

God Created the Integers: The Mathematical Breakthroughs That Changed History is a 2005 anthology, edited by Stephen Hawking, of "excerpts from thirty-one of the most important works in the history of mathematics." The title of the book is a reference to a quotation attributed to mathematician Leopold Kronecker, who once wrote that "God made the integers; all else is the work of man."

God Created the Integers - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

integers are eternal truth.

ed TLDR;
sick irrational-illogical nonsensical laws.

 

[Icymanipulator]

Why the fuck would you buy this?

Why would Nintendo want to put a human being inside a cage for this?

 

[TheMay30thMan]

Good. Keep mods free. I hope Japan bans the creation club next.

 

[Dr.D00p]

I think they take this kind of thing so seriously because video games are considered part of the Japanese identity, regarded as 'their' creation, in its modern form, that is, and the industry must be protected at all costs, how ever irrational and draconian it must seem to outsiders.

Still, it amazes me how the gaming community give Japan such a free pass when it comes to their clearly Xenophobic mono culture. Any Western country with such an ingrained government policy would be the target of a relentless social media campaign by the woke gaming press and fans...but for some unknown reason the country is left alone.

 

[Omega Supreme Holopsicon]

I think they take this kind of thing so seriously because video games are considered part of the Japanese identity, regarded as 'their' creation, in its modern form, that is, and the industry must be protected at all costs, how ever irrational and draconian it must seem to outsiders.

Still, it amazes me how the gaming community give Japan such a free pass when it comes to their clearly Xenophobic mono culture. Any Western country with such an ingrained government policy would be the target of a relentless social media campaign by the woke gaming press and fans...but for some unknown reason the country is left alone.

Isn't that a country rumored to sell teenage girl used panties in the gacha machines on the streets? Not sure if they sell the actual stuff or imitation. (if real that probably quite lucrative and helps buy newer underwear)

 

[strange headache]

This site explains it quite well, A (very brief) summarization:

I've looked at this before but failed to see the connection with people getting jailed for editing savegames. This unfair competition act is from 2018 and seems to regulate the protection of trade secrets. I'm unsure as to how mods and cheats apply in this context.

 

[Omega Supreme Holopsicon]

I've looked at this before but failed to see the connection with people getting jailed for editing savegames. This unfair competition act is from 2018 and seems to regulate the protection of trade secrets. I'm unsure as to how mods and cheats apply in this context.

kangaroo court lawyer judge politician logistics, how much laws actually work. A deep logical analysis shows fundamental errors in logic in most laws(hopefully smart contract like semantics becomes used in the future... wherein loopholes are costly mistakes, not kangaroo victories.), also most people would be in jail if the laws were followed to the letter.

 

[RaySoft]

I know Japan has some very strict laws regarding IP, especially as it relates to software, but arresting your own citizens over video game save files is one of the most absurd things I have ever heard. The police don't have the self awareness to step back, take a look at themselves, and ask "what the hell are we doing?".

How about confiscate the data to satisfy the aggrieved (Nintendo) and fine them or something. This sounds like the theoretical end point to some slippery slope scenario that no one really expects to come to pass, but discusses as a cautionary tale. Instead Japan lept right to the weird, sad end.

I agree 100%, but this is what we get when the big corpos. are lobbying behind the curtains when bills are passed. It will only get worse.

 

[Fake]

Yikes.

 

[Kadve]

I've looked at this before but failed to see the connection with people getting jailed for editing savegames. This unfair competition act is from 2018 and seems to regulate the protection of trade secrets. I'm unsure as to how mods and cheats apply in this context.

The act talks extensively about "data" protection. By modifying data you're potentially exposing vulnerabilities and secrets surrounding the data. Which in turn might negatively affect its creator, especially if you spread it around.

That's my take at least,

(In essence it would be the same as if you straight up made copies of the game and sold those)