Hey everyone, is homebrew illegal, coz someone at the JCF forums said that homebrew is illegal and said that the PSP is a failure (What the heck, they're still selling PSP's, I don't get it) back in December 08, and now I'm really confused. In case you didn't know, I'm not a Sony fanboy, and I only play my PSP rarely (just in case any of you are from JCF) *sigh*
Homebrew is legal, however the methods used to enable a games console to run homebrew code can be illegal in some countries. In the USA modchips or any device used to bypass copy protection are illegal under the DMCA, which means your computer could quite easily be classed as illegal too as it can be used to help aid in the removal of restrictions from a console like a PSP. Basically the law could be twisted in whichever way you want, Its not very clear... that’s how I see it anyway. I say enjoy your homebrew anyway
Yep you basically got it! I had to do a presentation and report last year for one of the modules on my course, I chose Xbox modification as the subject, one of the areas I looked in to was the legalities of modifying your Xbox. Here are two abstracts from my report that basically cover the laws and legalities for anyone who is interested, Might make your brain hurt a bit more, I remember it taking a while for me to get my head around some of the stuff when I was researching it.
even outside the US, alot of the same clauses in the DMCA are in all the EULA's that everyone signs and no one reads.
Must admit I dont think ive ever read one EULA all the way though... I’ve heard stories of people getting a laptop then getting a refund for the software pre installed on it as they have told the manufacturer they don’t agree to the EULA that was accepted for them.
Homebrew isn't illegal, it's just homemade executables. There's one instance at least where homebrew IS illegal however, and that's on the xbox(1), most homebrew has to be compiled with the stolen microsoft compiler and thus can not be distributed legally.
Also of course there are certain homebrew applications that are legal but you can go illegal things with them. A WAD Installer for Wii's they can be used to install any game from the Virtual arcade for free, though that wasn't exactly its original purpose its what its mostly used for.
I had thought homebrew was illegal but now I see that it's just how you use the homebrew applications that make it illegal. Like Dark Scyth mentioned with the A WAD Installer for Wii's, a homebrew can become illegal by how it is used.