Abstract:
Nintendo recently submitted a new DMCA removal notice to GitHub, and subsequently a total of 144 code repositories related to Switch chip modifications were removed. Relevant warehouses provide information or firmware for products such as Picofly, SX Core, SX Lite and HWFLY.
Nintendo claimed in the notice that these firmwares can bypass technical protection measures in the Switch boot process, allowing the modified chips to run illegally copied Switch games. Therefore, the design and dissemination of relevant firmware is an act of circumventing copyright protection measures. GitHub believes that the materials submitted by Nintendo are sufficient to support the removal.
Prior to this, Nintendo also asked GitHub to remove Switch emulators, key extraction tools, and other projects that can be used to run pirated games. This action further extends its rights protection targets to modified machine chip firmware and related distribution warehouses.
The notice also mentioned old cases related to Team-Xecuter. Gary Bowser was sentenced to 40 months in prison and was released in 2023 for his involvement in the production and sale of circumvention devices that can run illegal ROMs on Switch, 3DS and other consoles. However, Bowser's guilty plea does not mean that the court has generally ruled that all modifications to machine chips are illegal.
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