Can translation patches be legal?

[Graeystone]

Well it depends on what the game's medium is. Anything released 'after' the DMCA was passed in '98 would be protected from having it's DRM bypassed, with special exceptions for 'fair use'.

So, no. There is absolutely nothing illegal about releasing a translation as long as it's in patch form only, and no DRM protection schemes are bypassed in the process.

Airing video of any copyrighted for public consumption is illegal(ish), but it is currently up to the IP holder to decide whether or not to pull the video from wherever.

Bill S.978 on the hand would put the enforcement of video prosecutions in the hands of public officials, with no say from the actual IP holders. Regardless of whether they previously allowed it due to free advertising...

Back up a minute! Copyright Infringements used to be covered in Civil Court, not Criminal Court! This bill is so vague that saying a company's copyrighted catch phrase could be considered Copyright Infringement. Even 'parodies' like Robot Chicken or 'Weird' Al Yanckovich(sp?) could get into trouble.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s978/money
Why the hell am I not surprised the usual suspects(Reid and Pelosi) are pushing this?