Nintendo patents GBA emulation-

[Bratwurst]

So culled from the recent ish of GamePro- how about that, getting something interesting and informative out of that particular mag?

Patent # 6,672,963 at uspto.gov, just pull it up through a search as the url is way too long to really bother with.

Plucked from said site:


A software emulator for emulating a handheld video game platform such as GAME BOY.RTM., GAME BOY COLOR.RTM. and/or GAME BOY ADVANCE.RTM. on a low-capability target platform (e.g., a seat-back display for airline or train use, a personal digital assistant, a cell phone) uses a number of features and optimizations to provide high quality graphics and sound that nearly duplicates the game playing experience on the native platform. Some exemplary features include use of bit BLITing, graphics character reformatting, modeling of a native platform liquid crystal display controller using a sequential state machine, and selective skipping of frame display updates if the game play falls behind what would occur on the native platform.

Nintendo's already filed a cease and desist order with Tapwave Zodiac developer Crimson Fire.

It poses the question of whether Nintendo inherently has the right to do this. While I suppose they technically do, on the surface it's just a sneaky means of targeting the true piracy that is ROM distribution. I see it further as just another way for Nintendo to stomp all over hobbyists and developers who want an alternative than shelling out for their licensed dev platforms. One wonders how rabid Nintendo will be over trying to purge the net of emulators that run on regular home PCs though.

[Ed Oscuro]

Hooray for software patents...NOT! Well, sometimes they work out, but eh.

Well...I suppose I could ask the guy who used to work at the PTO but I don't wanna bother him.

Why is it that the PTO is granting patents for stuff that's already BEEN DONE? I mean that whole concept of "prior art," did it go out the fucking window or something? I must be missing something. Yeah, that's it.

Did you guys know that the Supreme Court apparently was motivated to return Tesla his patent on radio (post-mortem, I believe!) because Marconi was suing the U.S. government for infringing on his patent (and Marconi himself managed to get Tesla's original patents revoked as he was chummy with some of Britain's nobility who apparently put pressure in proper places)? Even PBS cites it as a "selfish reason" for the SC to rule in such a manner.

Now I'm wondering if this patent will expire.

The term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees.
Unless I'm not reading that correctly, the maintenance fee is simply there to let you bring the patent up to date and not lose time from when it was originally filed...but hmm. Patents aren't always good for 20 years.

Just what we needed.

[Ed Oscuro]

Hmm. It looks to me like they are trying to make a better emulator, and if your emulator uses some (or none, but they won't take notice) of the same features, they'll get after you.

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh, how convenient. At the bottom of the whole thing:


While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims.

[rbudrick]

Well, I don't thinkthey could ever stop emu authors from making their programs. Sure, tapwave may havea GBA emu, bt they are profiting of it in a way...Nintendo will just piss people off if they go after small time individuals, making them go underground and make them want to do it even more.

I 'm not sure, but I don't think nintendo could win this...think about how many competing software products are out there for variouus different purposes. If the code is different, it's not plagiarism, so what woulod Nintendo really have on them?

rob

[Ed Oscuro]

They'd still have that "infringes on our patent" argument.

Essentially, this is a bunch of crap because Nintendo is finding ways of being able to get SOMETHING that will scare the emu coders. Hell Nintendo sent the coders of a freakin' Neo Geo Pocket Color emulator into stopping their production. I would sure be concerned if I got a snippy email from them. o:

[Epicenter]

Major loophole. They said low capacity, as in seat-back airline in-flight entertainment use, cell phone, et cetera. Not only have I never heard of EITHER application (no cells capable of such emulation .. a CPU 2-4x as power as the GBA's ARM CPU is required to emulate it ..) but they left out *PCs*! What's less 'low-capacity' than a system thousands of times more powerful than the real deal? And which doesn't NEED to skip rendering frames?

Aren't Nintendo's nazi anti-piracy lawyers known for better than this? How could they miss something so OBVIOUS? [ I don't back Nintendo here and I am not angry at them for this little stunt. I just find their actions .. futile if they were going to go to the effort of PATENTING a flawed concept.. ]

[Bratwurst]

That's not a loophole, that's a summary paragraph for cursory glancing. Ed pointed out near the bottom that the patent itself allows for a broader definition of platforms. Which I'm sure Nintendo would leave open to interpretation at their discretion, when it suits them.

[Epicenter]

I kind of doubt the patent office would uphold such a broad definition. More narrow and strict requirements = More patents required = More money for patent office .. but who knows in this crazy world we live in.

Nintendo should be flattered people still WANT to emulate their crap. Sega went ahead and BOUGHT the only Saturn emulator (Giri Giri [debug?]) finished it, and sold it. N can't stop a decent business opportunity like that. Hell, they have enough trouble finding their dicks with both hands.

[goatdan]

Interesting move. Nintendo went the Sony route...

Emulators aren't illegal, and patenting the process means nothing in the short or the long term. They can sue these companies, but unless the code is so close to Nintendo's that it would be mistaken for the same exact program, they couldn't win. This has been proven time and time again in the software realm.

The fact is that Nintendo can go after the little guys behind the vision of a patent and threaten to sue and go to court until they run out of business over the whole deal. Sony didn't want Bleem! to sell their Playstation emulator for either the computer or the Dreamcast, so they kept taking them to court over and over, and even though the court cases were thrown out time and time again, Bleem! eventually ran out of money and folded.

That's how Nintendo will use this patent.

[kevincure]

Any techniques already used in GB/GBA emulation wouldn't be under Nintendo's patent because of 'prior art'; that is, you can't patent something that you weren't the first to do. I wouldn't worry about it.

[GaijinPunch]

Anyone coding anything should buy a cheap ass address in a 3rd world country, and somehow get a shell account there (or anywhere out of country). Do all releases from there --- ignore anything Nintendo sends you.