Rom Myths

[gatso]

I thought Id start a new thread for this from the GPengine thread-
I noticed a few misconceptions recently with regard to roms

MYTH #1- "I can legally download a rom because it is no longer distributed or the publisher no longer exists"
This is bullshit just because it is not distributed does not mean the rights do not belong to another company.

MYTH #2- "I own Super Mario, this means I can legally download a ROM version of the game because I own it"
Rubbish!!!!!!! You have access to YOUR hardcopy of YOUR game! True you may make a backup of that game BUT you are not entitled to any other version of said game PERIOD!

MYTH #3- "Masturbating will make me go blind"
Bollucks- Masturbation is natural and it will not make you go blind or grow hair on your palms.

Look I dont agree with the IDSA I think that they masturbate more than anyone and I admit I (and this may shock some of you) have downloaded these roms in the past! Of course i have deleted them all now and.......OH thats another one I find funny

MYTH #4- "I downloaded Dance Dance revolution and hooked a dance pad up to my GP32 and played it. Its ok because as long as I delete it within 24 hour its legal"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA are you fucking kidding! thats a load! there is no magical 24 hour time limit!!

But please, please, please correct me if im wrong in regard to any of these! I hope I am but i dont think so. Dont just flame me and tell me im wrong- at least back your argument up and I will certainly listen!

 

[bringoutthegimp]

Myth #5 - "if i download a rom the rom police will stab me up the arse with their batons"

TRUE

 

[thebluenewt]

Myth #5 - "if i download a rom the rom police will stab me up the arse with their batons"

TRUE

​

Yeah, that happened to a friend of mine.

 

[extremegamer]

MYTH #2- "I own Super Mario, this means I can legally download a ROM version of the game because I own it"
Rubbish!!!!!!! You have access to YOUR hardcopy of YOUR game! True you may make a backup of that game BUT you are not entitled to any other version of said game PERIOD!



I don't believe that is true. and if it is, i want to see something official stating its true. Especially with older systems that are harder to come by, for instance, if my Intellevision breaks, but the games are fine, and I want to play the game, instead of trying to buy another intellevision, i can play my backup on PC. I don't see anything wrong with that.

 

[Horscht]

myth 1 IS corerct, at least in germany. But under different circumstances. You are allowed to have a ROM of a certain game,if the game is no longer available. This also includes: ebay, second hand items, and if they are not available for a period longer than i think 6 months. But because you can find almoust any game on ebay, its ilegal to download roms.

 

[taras]

myth #6 - nobody here had heard any of those before, and will now stop downloading roms

 

[gatso]

I don't believe that is true. and if it is, i want to see something official stating its true. Especially with older systems that are harder to come by, for instance, if my Intellevision breaks, but the games are fine, and I want to play the game, instead of trying to buy another intellevision, i can play my backup on PC. I don't see anything wrong with that

Yeah you can use your original copy of your game to play it on an entity other than what it was designed for- i.e. BLEEM (although they suffered many a law suit as well)
But what you cannot do is download a copy of a game you already own- you dont have legal access to any other game OTHER than the one you own. So technically to play a snes rom on your gp32 you have to create the rom with your own cart. You want proof of this.....ill have a look and get back to you.
Im not making this up- this is what i have read over the years from computer journalists but if you would like I can find you proof.

 

[gatso]

myth 1 IS corerct, at least in germany. But under different circumstances. You are allowed to have a ROM of a certain game,if the game is no longer available. This also includes: ebay, second hand items, and if they are not available for a period longer than i think 6 months. But because you can find almoust any game on ebay, its ilegal to download roms.

Yeah I dont know about germany but the copyright law is applicable to the country the copyright was made in. Look at the recent Half Life source engine law suits

 

[xboxit]

MYTH#7- Nobody here abids by these rules as all of us have proberbly use are gp32_console at least once for emus and roms.

I agree with this rule, do you <_<

 

[Hokutoy]

Hi from SPAIN.
Here you can make/download a BACKUP of your (owned) game legally.
When you buy a game, you are buying the "game" itself, not the "media" it uses (Cartidge, cd, dvd).

Sorry, it's hard for me to explain these in English. The laws may cange in diferent country.

 

[gatso]

MYTH#7- Nobody here abids by these rules as all of us have proberbly use are at least once for emus and roms.

I agree with this rule, do you

huh?

 

[gatso]

In regard to the 24 hour period look here

http://www.idsa.com/piracy.html

If you cant be assed

Claim: "It is legal to download this product as long as you delete it after 24 hours."

Fact: Copyright laws do not allow for any test periods of registered works without the authorization of the copyright owner. Therefore, "trial usage" of a work constitutes copyright infringement if done without the permission of the copyright owner. Furthermore, even the act of downloading a copyrighted work without any usage constitutes copyright infringement because it necessarily involves making a copy.

 

[gatso]

One more thing_
I found this legal notice off a ROM site

LEGAL NOTICE: The backup/archival copy exception law does not extend to copies that infringe on existing copyright laws - i.e., no matter what you do, downloading these games for any purpose other than taking up hard drive space before prompt deletion is illegal.

Still looking to prove my other claims

 

[Tobriand]

Firstly, I'm not disputing anything you say, gatso; I'm sure you're right, and certainly know more about it than I do...

But it is interesting that, following some of the ideas here but with reference to other media, you ought to have serious trouble with photocopies.

For example, so far as I know, you're acclowed to photocopy a couple of pages of a book you own for, say, scribbling notes on. Now, lets say a teacher knows that everyone in a class has a certain book on loan from the institution for the duration of their course. However, because they're on loan, the teacher doesn't want them to get scribbled on, and, for convenience's sake, photocopies the relevant pages for scribblage from their own copy rather than taking in every book from the class and photocopying them individually or telling them to do some photocopying as homework. Theoretically, they're breaking the law, surely, since the copy comes from a different book than those the students have.

Ok, there are some very key differences here than with roms, obviously.

- Photocopying a few pages is NOT the same as copying an entire book.
- It could be argued that the teacher is acting as the arm of the institution, as are the students, and that therefore it is legitimate. This is not the case, however, if the students have bought their own books rather than borrowing them - especially if the editions are different (regardless as to whether the content is identical or not).
- Teachers very frequently break the law in terms of how frequently photocopied material is given out and how much anyway, so far as I can tell, so its perhaps hard to use the "it happens so it can't be illegal" idea. Its just that it happens *and* it is accepted within a school/college/(probably )university environment, so no-one complains. Much.

Like I say, I'm sure you're right. This is just an interesting comparisson. The issue also arises when quoting, but that's slightly different, I feel, since the quote is even shorter than the photocopied page, and in full scholarly essays, will be referenced (which supposedly makes it all ok... which is also pretty odd - after all, what's to prevent someone quoting the entire book and referencing it as page 1?).

Just a thought.

 

[jegHegy]

myth 1 IS corerct, at least in germany. But under different circumstances. You are allowed to have a ROM of a certain game,if the game is no longer available. This also includes: ebay, second hand items, and if they are not available for a period longer than i think 6 months. But because you can find almoust any game on ebay, its ilegal to download roms.

​

copyrights still apply, so you're stealing nonetheless. afaik. iirc. imho. fasdfasdf.

 

[gatso]

Firstly, I'm not disputing anything you say, gatso; I'm sure you're right, and certainly know more about it than I do...

But it is interesting that, following some of the ideas here but with reference to other media, you ought to have serious trouble with photocopies.

For example, so far as I know, you're acclowed to photocopy a couple of pages of a book you own for, say, scribbling notes on. Now, lets say a teacher knows that everyone in a class has a certain book on loan from the institution for the duration of their course. However, because they're on loan, the teacher doesn't want them to get scribbled on, and, for convenience's sake, photocopies the relevant pages for scribblage from their own copy rather than taking in every book from the class and photocopying them individually or telling them to do some photocopying as homework. Theoretically, they're breaking the law, surely, since the copy comes from a different book than those the students have.

Ok, there are some very key differences here than with roms, obviously.

- Photocopying a few pages is NOT the same as copying an entire book.
- It could be argued that the teacher is acting as the arm of the institution, as are the students, and that therefore it is legitimate. This is not the case, however, if the students have bought their own books rather than borrowing them - especially if the editions are different (regardless as to whether the content is identical or not).
- Teachers very frequently break the law in terms of how frequently photocopied material is given out and how much anyway, so far as I can tell, so its perhaps hard to use the "it happens so it can't be illegal" idea. Its just that it happens *and* it is accepted within a school/college/(probably )university environment, so no-one complains. Much.

Like I say, I'm sure you're right. This is just an interesting comparisson. The issue also arises when quoting, but that's slightly different, I feel, since the quote is even shorter than the photocopied page, and in full scholarly essays, will be referenced (which supposedly makes it all ok... which is also pretty odd - after all, what's to prevent someone quoting the entire book and referencing it as page 1?).

Just a thought.

Yeah in regard to that

-Universitys pay for the privalege
-You are legally entitled to photocopy up to a certain amount of pages
-If quoting you MUST reference
-You are only allowed to quote up to a certain amount
-Like roms certain books are public domain like sun tsu the art of war

 

[Horscht]

@jeHegy: you wouldn´t be stealing, if these rules would apply. But its very unlikely that something like that ever happens, so this is basicaly just a small hole nothing fits through. I don´t think this is a good, nor a usefull rule, since there´s ALWAYS a place you can buy a certain game (im not sure if Import shops count, if the game was released in your own country, too), but its a rule that allows you to download a game, if you couldnt buy it ANYWHERE. I never heard of a case where this rule was applied, and probably never will be, so who actually cares of that rule? It´s similar to saying: as soon as pigs can fly, you will be allowed to steal M$´s money.

 

[gatso]

Myth # 2 I can legally download a rom because I own the game

I said that was wrong
I cant find any hard info yet but I found an article from an emulator writer

it can be found here
http://www.palmsource.com/interests/emulators/

He basically says that you can only legally play a rom if you have made a backup of it yourself from the original copy.
Interesting read at any rate- the search will continue

 

[generalnmx]

Distribution is illegal, not ownership as far as I know. I will try to do my own research, but as of right now, we do not have reliable sources (especially the IDSA, which I consider highly unreliable).

 

[carlgeorge]

-You are only allowed to quote up to a certain amount

bollocks, you can quote an entire text if it is absolutely necessary and properly referenced. (It never is absolutely necessary though!!)

Also, you are probably correct in what you are saying, but I would like to see proper references (not just a programmer writing something on their website / readme file).

I don't think anyone here will be deleting all their roms because of this topic..