Law26 Jun 2026
Case law › United States
Sega v. Accolade
U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Cir., 20 October 1992, 977 F.2d 1510
Disassembling a console's code to understand how to run one's own games on it can be fair use.
- Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Cir.
- Date
- 20 October 1992
- Reference
- 977 F.2d 1510
- Parties
- Sega Enterprises Ltd. v. Accolade, Inc.
Key takeaways
Accolade wanted to release its games on the Mega Drive (Genesis) without going through Sega's licence. To do so, the studio disassembled the console's code to understand how to make its games run. Sega sued for infringement.
The court of appeals sided with Accolade. The copies made during this study were only a step towards reaching the functional elements, which are not protected, and the end result did not reuse Sega's code. That is fair use. The ruling paved the way for decisions favourable to reverse engineering and emulation in the United States.
The court applied the four fair use factors. Accolade's purpose was legitimate: understanding the console's compatibility requirements in order to publish its own games on it. Disassembly was the only way to gain access to those functional elements, which copyright does not protect. And Accolade's games did not replace Sega's: they enriched the console's catalogue.
A second part of the case concerned the trade mark. The console only accepted a cartridge if it triggered the display of the Sega logo. The court refused to let that lock be used to keep competitors out. In Europe, the issue falls under the decompilation exception, which is subject to considerably stricter conditions.
