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DS Flash Equipment > About Slot-1 encryption

#164139 - lincruste - Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:43 pm

Good morning everyone.

First of all, I hope you'll forgive my bad english, I'll try to avoid pure engrish.

I have been quite buzzed by this quote from Wikip?dia:

Quote:
"Before the encryption on SLOT-1 was reverse-engineered, which allowed the creation of SLOT-1 storage and NoPass devices, booting tools had to exploit flaws in early versions of the Nintendo DS' firmware or in specific games."


I've been trying hard to find an answer to this question: Are Slot-1 devices like M3DSREAL or CycloDS legal?

I actually live in France, where Nintendo France made thoses linker beeing removed by the police (really sorry for the bad english!).
A person named Veronique Vasse (a Nintendo employee in France) recently stated that Slot-1 linkers are illegal, and it became difficult to find an linker over here. I asked a clerk in a video game shop, and this man told me that Slot-1 devices are illegal because it use copyrighted code from Nintendo...
I found it arguable.

Now I wonder:

How do the Slot-1 linkers make non-signed code run on a DS without infringing the law? Reverse-engineering is allowed when it is used for inter-operability (in our both countries). I am not a developper, but I really am able to find documentation and understand what "encryption", "reverse-engineering" or "header" means. I would like to know if someone here can provide me a link or a doc which would give me further information about Slot-1 devices.
I know that USA citizens have to respect a DMCA, but talking about law isn't infringing it, is it?

Thank you very much for your help,
Regards

#164142 - tepples - Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:10 pm

lincruste wrote:
Quote:
"Before the encryption on SLOT-1 was reverse-engineered, which allowed the creation of SLOT-1 storage and NoPass devices, booting tools had to exploit flaws in early versions of the Nintendo DS' firmware or in specific games."

I've been trying hard to find an answer to this question: Are Slot-1 devices like M3DSREAL or CycloDS legal?

Only a judge can tell you that. But precedent-setting cases interpreting the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act include Chamberlain v. Skylink and Lexmark v. Static Control.

Quote:
I actually live in France

DADVSI is the French counterpart to the DMCA. If I read English Wikipedia's description correctly, its anti-circumvention clause includes what appears to be an even broader exception for interoperability than that of the U.S. DMCA. But the DADVSI is younger than the DMCA, and I'm not aware of any court cases interpreting it (not that precedents are binding in France anyway).

Should the legal climate turn hostile, if you really want to develop and run free software for a handheld system, your best bet might be to get in on the next batch of Pandora gaming PDAs.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

#164145 - lincruste - Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:44 pm

Thank you Mr tepples for your very fast answer!
What I understand from it is there is uncertainty and doubt towards theses technic & legal concerns. You are right when you say that our DADVSI is a DMCA avatar.
I believe that without a case law (I guess itis the right traduction of "jurisprudence"), it is impossible to tell if Nintendo has the right to prevent shops from selling Slot-1 linkers. No shop is whealthy enough to afford the necessary army of lawyers.
Good bye.
Mathias.

edit: And yes, since I've missed the first batch I'm looking forward to get a Pandora in 2009, thanks for the kind advice.
Regards.

#164180 - sgeos - Thu Oct 23, 2008 8:06 am

lincruste wrote:
I actually live in France

tepples wrote:
Only a judge can tell you that. But precedent-setting cases interpreting the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act include...

U.S. precedent means nothing in France.

#164221 - elwing - Thu Oct 23, 2008 8:29 pm

that said, don't be too afraid of DADVSI... if I understood that law correctly more than half of the french are out of law.... almost all dvd player also able to read DIVX are outlaw, 90%of the computer are outlaw at least... DADVSI is so stupid that if your DVD player do not use the good chip to decode the DVD it might be interpreted as piracy...

#164277 - lincruste - Sat Oct 25, 2008 1:46 pm

@elwing:
Hello,
Yes the DADVSI is a industry-oriented law rapidly set by an outgoing minister from the former french government. Its application is impossible in many ways but maintains us users in a state of uncertainty (i.e. on the matter of private copy). Some parts of the text of law are an exact copy/paste of reocmmendations from commercial companies like Vivendi/Universal...
http://www.numerama.com/magazine/2604-Le-Parlement-adopte-l-amendement-Vivendi-sur-le-P2P.html (french speaking article)
It seems to work well against independant hardware retailers too.