Why Are Emulators Legal? Dolphin vs. Nintendo, and the Fate of Emulation [Great Emu War Pt. 1]

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Why Are Emulators Legal? Dolphin vs. Nintendo, and the Fate of Dolphin Emulator

Everyone knows that emulators are legal... but why are they legal? Emulation is far more fragile than most people think, and its protected only by the thinnest veneer of law. Nintendo's recent takedown of Dolphin Emulator's release on Steam shows us that we cannot take the future of emulation for granted!

Let's explore together, the history of emulation law, the Dolphin vs. Nintendo battle over Steam, and the fate of Dolphin emulator. In so doing, we will learn what is legal in emulation, what isn't legal, and what still has yet to be clarified.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:14 - Sponsored By Brilliant.org
02:27 - A Tale of Two Companies and a Marine Mammal
04:33 - Intro to the Legality of Emulators
05:39 - Sony v. Connectix Corp., the Basis for Emulation Legality
09:19 - Sony v. Bleem, NOT the Basis for Emulation Legality
12:06 - TL;DR Legality of Emulation Summary
14:28 - Sega v. Accolade, Intro to 17 USC §1201(f)
15:55 - Dolphin Emulator Takedown Intro
18:21 - Analyzing Nintendo's Letter
30:22 - Valve's Role
35:16 - The Existential Threat of Emulation and the Big Red Litigation Button
37:35 - Soulja Boy Tangent
39:48 - Conclusion
41:08 - End Credits Gag, Silly Songs with Moony
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Track List:
Intro - Dolphin Park, Wave Race 64
Sponsor - Wii Shop Channel, Smash Ultimate
Tale of Two Companies - Grandma's Theme, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
Legality of Emulators/Connectix - Beginning Overture, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
Sony v. Connectix Corp. - Objection! 2001, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
Sony v. Connectix Corp. - Testimony ~ Allegro 2001, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
Sony v. Bleem - See, Above
Emulation Summary - Pursuit ~ Cornered, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
Sega v. Accolade - See, Above
Dolphin Emulator Takedown Intro - Bubblaine, Super Mario Odyssey
Nintendo's Letter - Dolphin Shoals, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Nintendo's Letter - The Trial, Chrono Trigger
Valve's Role - Want You Gone, Portal 2
Valve's Role - Still Alive, Portal
Big Red Button - Swing Doors, Fallout 3
Soulja Boy Tangent - Boogie Man, Fallout 3
Conclusion - Game Over, Ecco the Dolphin
End Credits Gag - Moony sings a parody of "So Long and Thanks For All the Fish" from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Movie.
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Attributions:
Mario Homerun Contest Footage:
   • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Home-Run...  

Dolphin 5.0 Release Video:
   • Dolphin 5.0 Release Video  

Dolphin Comparison Footage New Super Mario Bros
   • New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009) Wii ...  

Steam Summer Sale Memes
   • Are You Ready? - Steam Summer Sale 2016  
   • Are You Ready? - Steam Summer Sale 2017  
   • Attack on Gaben  
   • TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT  
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Additional Reading:

No Scrubs, by TLC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Scrubs

17 U.S.C. §1201
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/te...

Sony Computer Entertainment v. Connectix Corp., 203 F.3d 596 (9th Cir. 2000)
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-...

Sony Computer Entertainment America v. Bleem, 214 F.3d 1022 (9th Cir. 2000)
https://casetext.com/case/sony-comput...

The Nintendo Letter to Valve
https://imgur.com/a/cLE6DPX

The Verge's Article on Dolphin Emulator -- the best researched article on the subject I've read. They also published the Nintendo letters!
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/1/237...

Use of a Game Over: Emulation and the Video Game Industry, A White Paper, Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property
https://scholarlycommons.law.northwes...