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View Full Version : roms laws, what's LEGAL and what is ILLEGAL


JuGz
May 26th, 2002, 16:30
First of all i apologize for my sucky english.

Hi guys, i'm having a headache, because i'm trying to understand what roms are legal to put on a site and what aren't, there's who told me that snes roms are legal, there's who told me that those are legal just if u have the original cartridge (and then i can't put it on my site?), same for amiga adf and cps1 stuff. NOW is there anyone who can help me explaining or at least giving me some resources to search myself (i tried looking to many websites but i couln't find anything about roms laws)?
I wanna know what i risk if I put, for instance, a N64 rom on a website or a cps2 one...
please clear my mind :blush:
cheers

P.S. I hope I won't get banned, I don't think that this is an illegal thread..and I didn't know where to post it so I did it here.
Jaz
May 26th, 2002, 17:08
The only ROMS that are legal are non-commercial ROMS (ie: demos created by peope of games that aren't ever going to be `officially` released.)

Every other commercial ROM you'll find for any system, is illegal.

There are loopholes that suggest that if you actually own the real game, it's OK to have the ROM. But here at Emutalk, any discussion or links to ROMS is forbidden. :)

I'll lock this thread now, to avoid a ROM discussion getting out of hand.

If anyone thinks they can explain this better than me (which they probably can), feel free to unlock this and post).
Eagle
May 27th, 2002, 01:45
I believe the so called "loopholes" Jaz talked of are non-existant in legal terms. They are rumors to make it sound like its ok it copy the cartridge.
Jaz
May 27th, 2002, 02:28
That's why I said `suggest`.. :)
Gorxon
May 27th, 2002, 20:23
/me opens topic

I really don't think this topic should be closed, as it can be very interesting and informative.....and I think that a discussion about it would be good....

It should be closed, however, if it gets out of hand...;)
DuDe
May 27th, 2002, 21:32
The whole topic can easily be summarized, in an English that even a 5 year old can understand :
"R0Mzee womzee - NOT leagie weagie".
blizz
May 27th, 2002, 21:42
Emu FAQ here:

http://user.cavenet.com/neisz/emufaq99.htm

:devil:
Tri-Force
May 27th, 2002, 22:36
what about roms that were made to be sold but were never released (terranigma) are they legal? someone should figure out the whole legality and lay it down here in a sticky. loopholes and all. let there be nothing to be asked.
pj64er
May 28th, 2002, 01:04
terranigma was out in japan. the only legal roms afaik are open domain ones. This includes demos, homebrew games, and games that were never released (StarFox 2 - SNES)
JuGz
May 28th, 2002, 03:14
Thank you guys, but what can you risk if u put illegal roms on a website?
DuDe
May 28th, 2002, 03:16
Lawsuit.
Jaz
May 28th, 2002, 03:41
Great Sig, DuDe_.. :happy:

Pulp Fiction is the best film in the world.. EVER.. :D

BTW, JuGz.. if you've got ROMS on that website of yours, kindly remove the link to it from your sig.
DuDe
May 28th, 2002, 16:26
Originally posted by Jaz
Great Sig, DuDe_.. :happy:

Pulp Fiction is the best film in the world.. EVER.. :D

Ah, yes, IMDB is always usefull...
The Khan Artist
May 30th, 2002, 04:27
You can totally avoid lawsuits if you claim protection under the Internet Privacy Act. :P
BFeely
September 17th, 2003, 17:18
You can totally avoid lawsuits if you claim protection under the Internet Privacy Act. :P
Not true. go to snopes.com and search for that and you will find that it is false.
The Khan Artist
September 17th, 2003, 18:31
Geez... I posted that well over a year ago. Why bring this back up?

Anyway, yes, I did find out about that being a fraud... oh, a good six months ago.
vampireuk
September 17th, 2003, 19:00
Oh FFS what was the point in dragging this back up?
Jaz
September 17th, 2003, 23:33
Oh FFS what was the point in dragging this back up?

True, true. :ermm:
AlphaWolf
September 18th, 2003, 04:57
lol :happy:
sytaylor
September 18th, 2003, 10:05
I was told a while ago that extremley old games "don't bother" nintendo since they're not gaining active revenue from them anymore? Thus they become de-criminalised.. in that you're not supposed to have them but its still strictly speaking illegal???
pandamoan
September 18th, 2003, 11:19
I was told a while ago that extremley old games "don't bother" nintendo since they're not gaining active revenue from them anymore? Thus they become de-criminalised.. in that you're not supposed to have them but its still strictly speaking illegal???

this is what we used to call back on the ranch, horse shit.

however, you raise a good point with it, which has been known to happen with that special green paste on many other occasions as well.

the point is: whether or not anyone will PURSUE legal damages against you.

and afaik, nintendo is OVER this right now, since they are losing everything to MS and sony, due to horribly misguided decisions involving marketing and the demographics (age specifically) of the largest portion of american video game buyers.

they are on a one way train to out of business town, unless they can do something amazing to MS, which, honestly, i seriously doubt.

the problem i see is that consoles are an outmoded vehicle for video games, which is solely continued for the profit of corporations that care nothing about you the consumer.

this is why i only buy computer games, and only game on a computer.

jamie
vampireuk
September 18th, 2003, 13:07
If it has a active copyright then it's illegal, and let this thread die damnit!
sytaylor
September 18th, 2003, 13:23
If it has a active copyright then it's illegal

keyword is active.. and its about the only discussion around here anymore, why's it need to die so bad? :1eyealien
vampireuk
September 18th, 2003, 13:33
Take a look near the bottom of the first page. The dates, I hate grave digging :P

And afaik copyrights on all nintendo games are still active.
AlphaWolf
September 18th, 2003, 17:14
Unless the copyright holder specificaly says that you can distribute their content, or declares it public domain in some fassion, you can't. Some publishers of some older consoles have done this, but you have to be careful about who did and who didn't.
smegforbrain
September 19th, 2003, 02:55
And afaik copyrights on all nintendo games are still active.

Of course they are. And they will be for god knows how many decades longer.

Plus there is the fact that alot of games from the NES and SNES are being released on the GBA, both here in the US and Japan.

The only loophole I've seen in the laws wrt laws is the same one that allows you to make a video backup - you can backup (and there are apparently legal ways of *making* a rom), but you can't distribute, etc, etc.

Sites still get shut down on a daily basis, and Nintendo used to serve alot of C&D letters. Probably still do.
vampireuk
September 19th, 2003, 23:16
so yeah that covers nearly everything we said 5 fucking months ago
DuDe
September 20th, 2003, 00:16
LOL, grave digging :D
Let this thread die people, the above subject is deader than disco.
blizz
September 20th, 2003, 08:13
Disco is not Dead!
nephalim
September 21st, 2003, 03:22
ROMS ARE legal if you made them yourself (although this is grey zone, and can be debated.) That is the only situation in which they are legal, however. Nintendo has tried to create a loophole around this very clear legislation giving you a right to a backup copy of any software you own (although when the software is on a cartridge we enter into the "grey zone" I mentioned) by having you not actually BUY the game, you lease it in a sense, and as such have certain legal rights taken away from you.
alexa999
September 21st, 2003, 05:06
So, someone gonna lock this now?
vampireuk
September 21st, 2003, 21:10
If you don't stop spamming I will personally remove your god damn eyeballs
DuDe
September 21st, 2003, 21:16
I'm looking for some roms. Especially the SNK vs Capcom: Chaos rom, that was dumped recently. If you are in possession of this rom, please send it to hotcarl@aol.com , or hotguy69@aol.com. Thanks in advance.
Now stfu and stop beating this dead topic.