A small portable console, thousands of games: from the icons of the first Nintendo platforms, up to the PlayStation 2 and GameCube cornerstones. A real dive nostalgia a few hundred euros. These are Android -based devices, produced by Chinese companies such as Powkiddy, Anbernic or Trimui. In recent years they have had a commercial boom. Francesco Saliciniknown on YouTube as Once wild nerdspoke about it on his channel. Now he risks three years in prison. This is because, according to Italian law, copyright has not been respected.
The story of Once Were Nerd
Salicini’s nightmare began last April, with the arrival of the Guardia di Finanza with a search mandate. The complaint is linked to a video in which Salicini reviews the Anabernic portable console, showing old Nintendo and Sony titles. For the complaint it is a violation of copyright. Now the portable consoles have been confiscated from the YouTuber. According to an article in Arstechnica, it may have been Nintendo to report. This is because the Kyoto company is known in the sector for its policy as regards the violation of the copyright of its intellectual properties.
Meanwhile, under his latest video, in which Salicini tells the details of his story, he was born a movement of solidarity between usersboth Italian and international, many of whom have made donations for the disbelief of the situation. As YouTuber himself explains, it is neither the first nor the only content Creator to have video centered this type of console: in Italy and even more abroad, channels with millions of subscribers have done the same work without any criminal repercussion.
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The legal node: what Italian law says
The emulation, itself, is not illegal: Using a software that simulates the behavior of a console is perfectly lawful. It becomes this when Roma copyright games are used, downloaded from unofficial sources or shared without authorization. Many of the consoles mentioned at the beginning come ready for use, with titles that cannot be legally distributed.
In Italy, the reference legislation is article 171 of the copyright law, which provides for penalties up to three years in prison for those who duplicate, distributes or communicate protected works without authorization. A rule born well before the era of emulators, but which today is also interpreted to affect those who spread protected digital content, including the use and promotion of illegal rom.
According to sources mentioned by Android Authority, the Finanza Guard started a formal investigation after detecting the use and spread of protected Roma within videos on YouTube, which showed these portable consoles in action. The seizure of the devices and the possible darkening of the channel take place in a context in which The Italian authorities have already shown a rather rigid approach against digital piracy.
A further element of complexity is given by the origin of the devices: most manufacturers operate in China, out of the direct jurisdiction of European copyright laws. Despite this, the products are sold regularly online also in Europe, often with ambiguous descriptions such as “compatible with 7000+ games”, suggesting the presence of preloaded Roms without ever explicitly declaring it. This ambiguity allows manufacturers to evade controls, but does not protect users or local dealers from any legal responsibilities. In particular, those who promote, distribute or monetize these content risks becoming an easy target for the authorities.
