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Atlus US file DMCA takedown against Patreon-funded PS3 emulator

Team behind RPCS3 hold their ground with support from Patreon against pressure from Persona 5 developer

Atlus US has filed a DMCA takedown against the team behind open-source PS3 emulator, RPCS3. The Persona 5 developer put the request directly to Patreon, where the RPCS3 team receives over $3,000 to work on the project full time.

In a post on reddit, the RPCS3 team detailed the debacle between themselves, Patreon, and Atlus US.

According to the post, Atlus requested the complete removal of the RPCS3 page from Patreon, saying: "The PS3 emulator itself is not infringing on our copyrights and trademarks; however, 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."

Patreon rejected the request, stating it would be unreasonable to remove the page entirely given that it does not specifically infringe on Atlus's IP, and that emulation falls under fair use.

Atlus also requested that the page be removed for the reason that, in order to make Persona 5 work on an emulator, the user has to circumvent DRM protections. It was added that RPCS3 had provided instructions for "dumping the disc or PSN download" and that Patreon funding contributed to the breakthrough.

Opting to play it safe, the RPCS3 team have removed all reference to Persona 5 from their Patreon page and all pages on rpcs3.net, including the game's name from the compatibility database.

Responding magnanimously RPCS3 said: "We firmly believe we operate within a legal framework and will continue to work on RPCS3, undeterred.

"Whatever happened, we ask everyone to be nice. RPCS3 as a project and the Patreon itself are safe. And whatever people may wish, there's no way to stop any playable game from being executed on the emulator. Blacklisting the game? RPCS3 is open-source, any attempt would easily be reversed. Attempting to take down the project? At the time of this post, this and many other games were already playable to their full extent, and again, RPCS3 is and will always be an open-source project."

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Ivy Taylor avatar

Ivy Taylor

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Ivy joined GamesIndustry.biz in 2017 having previously worked as a regional journalist, and a political campaigns manager before that. They are also one of the UK's foremost Sonic the Hedgehog apologists.