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The Americas ​

This page is not legal advice. The law of the country where you live applies to you. The United States is on its own page.

Canada has interoperability exceptions both for studying a program and for locks. Mexico makes circumvention for profit a crime. Brazil and Argentina have no decompilation exception.

Canada ​

  • Studying a program. Section 30.6 of the Copyright Act lets the owner of a program copy adapt it where this is essential to run it on a computer, for their own use. Section 30.61, from 2012, allows copying "for the sole purpose of obtaining information" to make a program interoperable (Justice Laws).
  • Locks. Section 41.1 bans breaking access controls and dealing in tools. An individual who breaks a lock only for private purposes faces no statutory damages. The interoperability exception in s.41.12 was widened in November 2024 to cover "a device in which it is embedded", and s.41.121 added a repair exception (Justice Laws).
  • Libraries and archives. Section 30.1 lets libraries, archives and museums copy works in an obsolete format, unless a copy is on sale (Justice Laws).
  • How long copyright lasts. The author's life plus 70 years since 30 December 2022. Works whose copyright had already ended did not get it back.
  • Owners who cannot be found. The Copyright Board can license them (Copyright Board). It granted 277 licences from 1990 to 2013, none for games.
  • Cases. In Nintendo v. King (2017), the Federal Court awarded $12.76 million against a seller of game copiers and mod chips. The court rejected the defence that buyers used them for homebrew, because the seller gave no evidence for it (Smart & Biggar).

Mexico ​

  • Studying a program. Art. 105 of the Federal Copyright Law allows one use or back-up copy (LFDA art. 105). The only reverse engineering rule is in the lock article.
  • Locks. Art. 114 Quáter, from July 2020, excuses breaking a lock to make an independently created program interoperable (LFDA art. 114 Quáter). Federal Penal Code art. 427 Bis punishes knowing circumvention for profit with six months to six years in prison (CPF art. 427 bis). The Supreme Court upheld these articles on 3 June 2024.
  • Libraries and archives. Art. 148 V lets a library make one copy of a work that is out of print and at risk of disappearing.
  • How long copyright lasts. The author's life plus 100 years, the longest term in the world (LFDA art. 29).
  • Cases. The authorities enforce the law by raids. The industrial property office IMPI closed Mexico City's Friki Plaza in one of them.

Brazil ​

  • Studying a program. Art. 6 of the Software Law (Lei 9.609 of 1998) lists the only acts that do not infringe: a back-up copy, quotations for teaching, similarity forced by function, and integration needed for the user's own use. There is no decompilation or interoperability exception (Lei 9.609).
  • Locks. Art. 107 of the Copyright Law makes disabling copy controls a civil wrong, with no exceptions (Lei 9.610). Brazil is not a party to the WIPO Copyright Treaty.
  • Libraries and archives. No preservation exception.
  • How long copyright lasts. 50 years from publication for software. Copyright in a game's art, music and film parts lasts longer.
  • Games that shut down. Bill PL 3612/2026 would require two years of support and 180 days' notice. After a shutdown, a company would have to offer an offline version, community server tools or a partial refund (Game Overdrive). It has not passed.

Argentina ​

  • Studying a program. Ley 11.723 protects source and object code and excludes "ideas, procedures, methods and concepts" as such. Art. 9 allows one back-up copy. The law has no decompilation exception, no lock rule and no library exception (InfoLeg).
  • How long copyright lasts. The author's life plus 70 years.

Chile ​

  • Studying a program. Art. 71 Ñ of Ley 17.336, from 2010, is the broadest software exception in the region. It allows reverse engineering of a lawful copy for interoperability "or for research and development purposes" (LeyChile).
  • Locks. Chile has no circumvention ban.
  • Libraries and archives. Art. 71 I lets non-profit libraries copy works that have been off the market for three years. Art. 71 K allows on-site terminals.
  • How long copyright lasts. The author's life plus 70 years, or 70 years from publication for company works.

Colombia ​

  • Studying a program. Andean Decision 351 allows a copy or adaptation that is indispensable for use.
  • Locks. Ley 1915 of 2018 makes circumvention a civil wrong (art. 12). Art. 13(a) excuses reverse engineering for interoperability. The copyright office can add exceptions every three years (Ley 1915).
  • Libraries and archives. Art. 16 allows lending and on-site terminals.
  • How long copyright lasts. 70 years from publication for company works.
  • Owners who cannot be found. Arts. 18 to 21 let institutions use orphan works. Software is not named.

What this means for a project ​

Canada and Chile permit study of a program. Mexico and Colombia permit it through their lock exceptions. Brazil and Argentina do not expressly permit decompiling. There, observing the running game and writing new code that copies no expression carry the least risk. In Mexico, breaking a lock for profit is a crime.

Code: Apache 2.0. Content: CC0 1.0. No game material: bring your own copy.