Legality of ROMs


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Not exactly going to stop me playing games I can't actually buy anymore.
 
Bingo. Some people care. Most of us here appease our morality with the "but we don't hurt anyone, the software isn't sold anymore" excuse. I'm one of those... but you still have to admit, if you don't own it, it isn't legal (and yes, there are some possible legal/illegal arguments if you don't dump the rom yourself and such, but those aren't as sticky).

This is one of the reasons why I'm glad there isn't a GBA emu... sure I'd love to be able to play GBA games on my GP32, but then the user base would be filled mostly with people too cheap to buy GBA games legally.

Just my additional 2 cents - thanks for the FYI/links!
 
Its not something to worry about... unless you're running a large ROM site, even then you get a letter asking you to shut down. Just don't delude yourself... if you don't own the game, the rom you have isn't legal. I don't think the post was intended to convince people not to emulate on their GP32s, but just as an FYI - a reminder that despite what you may believe (old games should be free, etc.) the law says different.

Myself, I own quite a bit of what I play (although I often owned a version on a different system)... but I've found tons of new favorites that I've never owned too, and don't plan to stop playing!
 
Would anyone actually own the copywrite to those games though? Commodore died years ago. Then Escom bought them.. Then Escom died.. Nothing left of commodore. From what I understand the IDSA don't just go around and shut down random sites, a copywrite holder has to make a complaint. Wonder who it was...
 
Maybe someone's planning a remake of an old Vic20 game or something..

edit:

The person who came up with the purple colour scheme for the new games slashdot.org subsite should be shot!
 
As I said in my Frodo guide, you should do "whatever lets you sleep well at night."

Personally, I don't think I'm putting anyone out on the street by downloading Commodore, Atari 2600, ST, NES, or even SNES stuff at this point. Like the Atari 2600 stuff ... I owned Pitfall on cart years ago, have obtained several more copies of it over the years (garage sales, pawn shop lots, etc), plus I know I have at least two or three other legal copies of it, one from a PC "Activision Collection" thing I bought, and the "Activision Anthology" on PS2. I've got legal copies of Pitfall coming out of my ears. Knowing that, I don't think the guys at Activision would really care that I downloaded it and stuck it on my GP32. In fact, if you could get through all the legality and paperwork, my guess is they would think it was pretty cool. Of course, maybe they would get the idea of writing a GP emulator and sell their games. Who knows.

My main reason for posting the news was to show how stupid the ISDA has become. That, and to make a minor point to all those people who say, "ROMs are legal IF you delete them within 24 hours" and "Abandonware is legal" and all those other bogus arguments that ... well, apparently. someone DOES care.

My personal "line in the sand" is, "can I buy it new?" Downloading some brand new PS2 game is wrong because you could buy it, and by downloading it, you're stealing it.

Downloading a Vic20 game (to me at least) is totally different. If I WERE going to buy a Vic20 game, I'm guessing it would either be from eBay, or from a pawn shop/thrift store. I don't think you can buy them new. Hell, I wouldn't know HOW to get a dime to the companies even if I wanted to? That's the kind of stuff I can download and not lose sleep over.
 
Re: the IDSA

Here's their site: http://www.idsa.com/piracy.html

If you click the FAQ it has a LOT of Q/A about old games, etc. As they point out, many defunct companies sold their intellectual rights such as copyrights to another company, so its still enforced. As to the IDSA shutting down sites, I don't know who has to complain. I've been active in the abandonware "scene" for awhile and lots of sites are asked by them to remove games copyrighted by companies belonging to the IDSA (Sierra for sure, and I believe Lucas Arts as well... prolly why its hard finding those games if you don't have the disks). From a couple of the notes on the first link posted, it sounds like the VIC20 site was asked to remove some Atari published games and they decided to just shut down the site to be safe. Most people who run sites like this for hobby/fun purposes can't risk the possibility of legal action.

Anyway, info for those who want it, not intended to spark arguments as pretty much all of us here agree!

Edit: BTW, Flack - I think your summation is perfect - "Whatever lets you sleep well at night!"
 
Hahaha.. Atari games? Infogrames are heavily in debt (if The Matrix doesn't sell 5 billion copies then they'll go bankrupt for sure. So don't buy The Matrix).. Maybe they think piracy of old Atari games is what's killing them, rather than the fact that they're a bunch of gimps..

:rolleyes: :lol:


If games publishers had their way it would be illegal to buy/sell second hand games. Infact I'm pretty sure that it is illegal to sell second hand games in Japan now (or atleast newer games that have a warning printed on the packaging). Games publishers, the money men, don't want you pirating old games, they don't want you buying old games, they don't want you playing old games. You're supposed to be playing Grand Theft Auto, or Tomb Raider or whatever.

Why would someone buy the dross that's being released now if they can play old fun games for free or cheap?


Apparently the IDSA have gone after freeware game sites too. "We're going to shut you down because game X which is available for free on your site is kinda like game Y which one of our members is publishing..". Although that's just what I've heard...
 
hell i don't care, my personal rule is if the console is dead and there is not a chance in hell i could find the game i'll get the ROM especially for my gp32, i do not play GBA ROMs though, except for one which i've never even seen in the shops
 
Use ZX and MSX games some of them are freeware games or free to use ...
 
There are some sites ASKING the developers if they can release the games as freeware (e.g. back2roots for Amiga games)
If you only use these games, you get A LOT of great stuff and are on the totally legal side :)
 
Just to complicate matters, different countries will view the whole question differently. And the computer software is not treated the same as text in a book, or music on a record. Before the current US laws came into effect, they could only sue you for lost revenue, if there is no distribution for a game and you pirate it, and they caught you, all they could do is sue for costs and the price of the game. Opinions vary on this because it was never seriously contested in court. Not for the average home user anyway.

Atleast make an effort to acknowledge the software writer they still own the copywrite to the code
 
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