Question on Rom Legality

[Kieroshark]

Let me preface this with the statement that I do not support piracy.


I'm curious about one aspect of rom legality.


I am aware that you are allowed to download data off of the device (game cartridge / CD etc) and use that with emulators.


If you own the cartridge, but do not have the equipment to download the game information (Game Boy / Genesis, in particular), is it legal to seek out and download the rom?


Or is any kind of distribution of roms illegal?


Thanks for the clarification.

 

[SNESFAN]

depends on your country's laws, some countries don't even allow you to own a rom even if you own the original cartridge. You aren't allowed to make copies of your own software!


In America you can own the rom if you own the cartridge, but I don't think you can actually download the rom even if you own one just like it. It's in the copywrite infingement, similar to the FBI warnings on movies, unlawful distrobution.


But you can legally own the rom if you have the original media. How you got it is a mystery


Are they going to bust you for downloading an NES rom if you can show them the cartridge in a court room? I highly doubt it. Would they bust you for downloading every NES rom in existence without owning the cartridge? I still highly doubt it, but that all depends if your country is ran by ... um.. strict people.


EDIT: when in doubt, consult wikipedia


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROM_image

 

[ledow]

Let me preface this with the statement that I do not support piracy.


I'm curious about one aspect of rom legality.


I am aware that you are allowed to download data off of the device (game cartridge / CD etc) and use that with emulators.


If you own the cartridge, but do not have the equipment to download the game information (Game Boy / Genesis, in particular), is it legal to seek out and download the rom?


Or is any kind of distribution of roms illegal?


Thanks for the clarification.

Nobody knows.


It doesn't seem too unreasonable but by the letter of the law you *could* be convicted of copyright infringement depending on the country and any EULA that you agreed to on the original game. That's why no-one will give you a blanket yes or no - there's no *moral* reason why not, but legally it's the same as saying "I own Office on Windows, can I just download a pirate copy of Office on Mac too?" The (legal) answer is no, unless there are prevailing agreements that allow you to do that. Similarly, owning a book would entitle you to download a free copy of it for your Kindle, or whatever. The law doesn't specifically say yes and might well be saying NO in big capital letters. It depends too much on the copyright owner, their licensing structure, any agreements and the local laws.

 

[WizardStan]

As has been said, the law can vary greatly from country to country. In the USA, strictly speaking, you're only allowed to MAKE a copy for format shifting purposes, I don't think I've seen provisions for allowing you to download something off the internet, even if you already own a copy. In Canada, you're explicitly allowed to download but not upload. Other countries will differ still.


And above it all are companies telling you it isn't legal to ever make a copy, and in some countries that may be true.

 

[Zelest]

Here in Sweden it is pretty straight forward: You can make your own copy. However it is illegal to download copyrighted material. Therefore you may not download even if you own the original.


However, if it comes to a trial, it might be seen as a mitigating circumstance if you actually own the original. Then we also have to view the aspect that if you use torrents, you are also sharing the material you are downloading. Sharing copyrighted material is also illegal, so it kind of stacks up.


So, it is safest to stick to freeware and public domain.

 

[I8NY]

If you own the game then you should have the right to the rom from whatever source you obtain it in. That is how it should go and it reasonable but it usually isn't legal. Just don't get caught and we will never have to worry about it

 

[Blue Protoman]

I don't think authorities would care too much if they found out that you pirate software; it takes too much time and effort to arrest you, investigate, put you on trial, etc. Multiply that by the number of people that pirate software? It's not worth the effort. Busting distributors, though; that's a different story.

 

[second exodous]

Video game companies have not gone after sources of illegal roms in full force, to my knowledge, and that usually happens before they go after individuals. Also, when the RIAA sues people in the US they don't include ripped music they find on your computer if you have the physical copy, they usually have enough to get you for with the music you don't have physical copies of. The same will probably hold true of games, if you own the cart and the video game companies busts you they won't include those roms in the court case. If you only have roms that you own carts of then they probably won't pursue you as there are millions of other people that will be an easier target.


I just realized that the video game industry doesn't have an organization representing them like the music industry has the RIAA and the move MPAA. Well, at least here in the US. Without that then there is an even smaller chance of you getting busted.

 

[WizardStan]

If you own the game then you should have the right to the rom from whatever source you obtain it in.

Well that is part of the problem, even if you had the right to the ROM on the cartridge you own, how do you know that the one you're downloading is THE ROM to the cartridge you own? If you own the NTSC version, do you have any claim to the PAL version? Suppose the first release had a convenient bug that was patched for subsequent runs: are you permitted to own the unpatched ROM even though your cartridge actually contains the patched code? or vice versa? Some interpretations of the law would have that any ROM copy you own must be exactly the same as the original cartridge, including timestamps if it contains any (and they often do), otherwise it isn't a copy but a derivative work, which falls under a different set of guidelines. It gets confusing from there

 

[second exodous]

Oh wow, if who ever is pursuing you goes to the trouble to find out which version you own and which version you have the rom of your sunk anyway, these people are digging and really really want to get you gang raped in prison. At that point I'd skip the country.

 

[WizardStan]

Oh wow, if who ever is pursuing you goes to the trouble to find out which version you own and which version you have the rom of your sunk anyway, these people are digging and really really want to get you gang raped in prison. At that point I'd skip the country.

The question wasn't about practicality, it was about legality. Letter of the law, mate

 

[second exodous]

The question wasn't about practicality, it was about legality. Letter of the law, mate

Ah good, you had me worried there for a while. I don't even liked to be touched by other guys. . .

 

[Kieroshark]

Ok, thanks all for the information.

Ah good, you had me worried there for a while. I don't even liked to be touched by other guys. . .

Rofl!

 

[wardred]

Are they going to bust you for downloading an NES rom if you can show them the cartridge in a court room? I highly doubt it. Would they bust you for downloading every NES rom in existence without owning the cartridge? I still highly doubt it, but that all depends if your country is ran by ... um.. strict people.

Depends on who's watching and how you download. I received a Bittorrent warning letter because of the movie Pitch Black that my roommate downloaded...and I happen to own on DVD. :-b I don't think of my little apartment as pirate central, and even if he was downloading a fair bit of stuff, it was certainly nothing compared to the terra bytes any college campus sees any given month.


It's a bit like the lottery in reverse. Not likely to get caught, less likely to get taken to court, but not something you want to "win" at.


Edit: and in the States I don't believe you have the legal right to download, though I could be wrong and/or this could be a gray area. Ripping from your own media if it doesn't have any bit of DRM is okay, and using a P2P client is strictly out if you're not just a leacher.