The issue of preserving video games, particularly those that are out-of-print, has always been one of the bigger challenges in the video game community. For physical books, libraries are typically able to archive out-of-print works or digitize them to maintain their availability. But the same cannot be said for video games, mostly due to restrictions instigated by DMCA.
It was for this reason that the Video Game History Foundation submitted an appeal to the US Copyright Office, desiring an exception to DMCA regulations that would support the cause of video game preservation. Sadly, the appeal has been rejected. The Copyright Office has concluded this based on inputs from the Entertainment Software Association. Who stated, the VGHF did not effectively “propose a specific requirement to identify the users or their reasoning for game access”.
The Copyright Office, in response, clarified in the Registers’ Recommendation of Copyrights that the VGHF has not demonstrated that “the act of duplicating works to allow numerous simultaneous uses in the computer program class can be considered fair”. A similar judgement was given regarding “the suggested off-site usage in the video game class”.
In reaction to this, the VGHF released a statement affirming their ongoing commitment to push for “increased access and legal provision for the preservation of video games”.
