Month: September 2017

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Video game publishers often use the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to try to stop things like fan-games, ROM hacks, YouTube videos, and even "obsolete titles" from being distributed on the Internet. Japanese publisher Atlus, though, is using a more expansive view of DMCA protections to try to take down a PC-based PlayStation 3 emulator merely because it enables players to run copies of Persona 5.

The battle centers on the Patreon page for RPCS3, an "early, work-in-progress" effort to create a functional PS3 emulator that currently attracts more than $3,000 a month from 677 patrons. As Reddit user ssshadow notes in a thread, Atlus issued a DMCA request to Patreon to have the page taken down. While Patreon did not agree to that request, the RPCS3 team says it removed all references to Persona 5 from the Patreon page to help "resolve the situation."

Though Atlus reportedly acknowledged that "the PS3 emulator itself is not infringing on our copyrights and trademarks," the publisher argued that "no version of the P5 game should be playable on this platform; and [the RPCS3] developers are infringing on our IP by making such games playable." In a followup message to Patreon, Atlus reportedly argued that "to make Persona 5 work on the emulator, the user has to circumvent our DRM protections" and points out that the non-Patreon RPCS3 page provides generalized instructions for how to "dump" a legitimate copy of the game from your PS3.

"Perhaps you should switch to another cable company… oh, that's right, we're the only one in town." (credit: Viacom)

Cox has started charging overage fees to customers who exceed their data limits in California, bringing the nation's third largest cable company a bit closer to nationwide deployment of data caps.

Previously, Cox's California customers technically had monthly caps, but there was no enforcement of overage fees. Moving forward, Cox subscribers in the state will pay $10 for each additional block of 50GB after they pass the monthly cap.

Customers who signed up for the 1Gbps "Gigablast" service prior to September 26 of this year will get unlimited data plans at no extra charge, while all other California customers will have a 1TB (1,024GB) cap.

The FDA has partnered with some of the biggest names in health and technology to modernize consumer health devices and programs. The FDA just announced the companies who will be the first to participate in its precertification pilot program under its Digital Health Innovation Action Plan. Apple, Fitbit, Samsung, and Johnson and Johnson are among the nine companies included in the program, meaning they will collaborate with the FDA to create guidelines for other companies to get FDA precertification based on their digital health programs.

The FDA is trying to make it easier for consumers to have access to approved health devices and programs, so each individual can take more responsibility for their own health. Consumers already use wearable devices and health apps to assess general health and specific medical conditions, even though most of these devices do not bear an FDA-approved stamp. The companies participating in this pilot program will help the FDA narrow down "key metrics and performance indicators for precertification" surrounding a company's digital health software.

Software is key to this program because the FDA isn't looking at individual devices made by these participating companies. Rather, the FDA will consult with Apple, Fitbit, and others about what aspects should be included in a company's digital health software in order for it to be "pre-certified."