| Viper1 said: I can't be certain of that. I'm also unsure just how broad that German law reaches. By that I mean would a subsidiary, even based in a different coutnry, still be bound by the German laws of its parent company? I can't say for sure if it would or not. If it would still apply, then obviously even opening up shop (eShop that is) in a different country still wouldn't solve the problem.
I'm pretty certain that Nintendo is looking at all their options. If a viable solution is there, they will take it. |
As a german I can say, our laws regarding and influencing the internet seem to be from the dark ages.
It starts with the point, that every court - in which area a law-breaking happens - can be called to sue the infringer. Point is: internet and internet services (including eShop) are available everywhere, so every court in germany is in charge. People who want to sue an internet-service, do that at courts, that have a history of deciding against the internet. In the case of germany thats the court in Hamburg. It's decisions are somewhat legendary here in germany. So every internet-service is automatically on the losing side.
Then the laws itself. Not only the laws for youth-protection, that are specially strict in germany. But the laws on copyright hold also many hurdles. Do you know, that Google blocks many Youtube-videos in Germany and only in Germany. That is all including music, because our collecting society for componists cannot agree with Google about a contract like other collecting society in different countries did. So most videos containing music are blocked in germany. And sometimes bird-songs too, because some program had found similarities to some song our collecting society is in charge for. Especially great: some german bands have found out, that promoting over the internet is cool, and have uploaded their videos on youtube. Everyone in the world can watch this videos, except germans. Many of these bands even sing in german.
German courts also tried to shut down Wikipedia, but that is not so easy. The german part of the Wikimedia Foundation is a in reality completely independent and is very interested in having no servers and have no control over any server. But it pays indirectly for servers in other countries. The point here is not only, that the servers are located elsewhere, but that the german foundation has no influence over them in any way.
If you ask yourself, why no innovative internet-service started from germany, here you have the answer.
