Are the ROM's here legal?

[Albert]

Don't forget in Germany we have Autobahn areas with "Freie Fahrt für freie Bürger" which means NO tempolimit at all. Now make the conversion of that.

 

Yeah, I saw plenty of these signs last year when we were there:

 

 

 

..Al

[S.BAZ]

When Pirate Bay won their case in the world court, I wanted to know why. Here's what I found out:

 

Copyright applies to COMMERCIAL use. Folks is free to make personal use of copyrighted material. It doesn't matter whether it's books, music, movies, or video games.

[mr_me]

Wikipedia says they went to jail. Copyright infringement applies to both personal and commercial uses. In order to be criminal, check with the laws in your local jurisdiction. In many cases personal piracy is not criminal. Be carefull with torrents, as you are not only downloading but uploading and can therefore be criminally charged with distribution. In all cases you could be sued by the copyright owner.

Edited August 20, 2018 by mr_me

[Flojomojo]

I'm glad Albert has weighed in on this thread.

 

His profile pic should be

 

[doug0909]

Nobody has clearly pointed out any jurisdiction in which possession is criminal. My quick research only revealed statutes saying possession of infringing items WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE is illegal, and that may have been what was happening in the case on the last page. It would be a strange thing to prosecute people using dvd's and handbags they bought on the street and trying to prove they had knowledge of copyright infringement (though I'm sure most do). But maybe I haven't done enough research...

 

As for civil suits, you can't have a civil suit without damages, and the damages from you not purchasing 40 year old code for a game are probably so low they would not support a suit...

[+Gemintronic]

If the original poster wants to be %100 sure then..

 

..can't you just choose to download public domain and shareware titles? I mean, check the games license and then add it to your library?

 

Not saying it doesn't take Googling and research. But, that's the way I do it.

 

Not hating. Just wondering why this wasn't part of the answer.

 

 

UPDATE: If they mean firmware/bios then I'm wondering if there's a utility to back up your own firmware/BIOs for the 8 bit computers.

[adamchevy]

By now the original copyright owners of these games have:

 

1. Been paid!

 

2. Are Rich

 

3. Don’t Care (Unless your Nintendo)

 

4. Could be dead( using dead people’s stuff is just fine)

 

By Now the original creators of these games

Are:

 

1. Been Paid

 

2. We’re Rich/ Still Rich

 

3. Don’t Care

 

4. Feel Appreciated

 

5. Love to be interviewed(well they should love it, because I do!)

[+Gemintronic]

I don't think assuming the owners are OK is a good way forward.

 

Like I said: why doesn't the original poster just double check the license? Shareware, freeware or public domain should be AOK. If digital copies cannot be bought then dump it yourself. Being %100 percent legitimate is not always convenient.

[adamchevy]

I don't think assuming the owners are OK is a good way forward.

 

Like I said: why doesn't the original poster just double check the license? Shareware, freeware or public domain should be AOK. If digital copies cannot be bought then dump it yourself. Being %100 percent legitimate is not always convenient.

If they weren’t ok I assume they would be doing something about it? This whole discussion is a waste of valuable game playing time. You could spend your whole life trying to sort out copyright and patent issues. Especially with most of the old content this site deals with. I’m not advocating for piracy. I do think you should try and do things the right way. In trying to do things the right way sometimes you get lost in perspectives and areas that are undefined. Also, this hobby was meant as something you do for fun and leisure. I think the creators of these works are interested in that at some level.

[+Gemintronic]

If they weren’t ok I assume they would be doing something about it? This whole discussion is a waste of valuable game playing time. You could spend your whole life trying to sort out copyright and patent issues. Especially with most of the old content this site deals with. I’m not advocating for piracy. I do think you should try and do things the right way. In trying to do things the right way sometimes you get lost in perspectives and areas that are undefined. Also, this hobby was meant as something you do for fun and leisure. I think the creators of these works are interested in that at some level.

 

I pretty much agree. Though I'm still not convinced assuming someone or some company is OK means it's OK. It just means you're personally OK with the legal risk and your own moral code.

 

Which I guess is my main point too. Of course AtariAge feels their ROMs are legal. If you have additional concerns then it's up to your own due diligence.

[adamchevy]

 

I pretty much agree. Though I'm still not convinced assuming someone or some company is OK means it's OK. It just means you're personally OK with the legal risk and your own moral code.

 

Which I guess is my main point too. Of course AtariAge feels their ROMs are legal. If you have additional concerns then it's up to your own due diligence.

If we end up living in a world where you have to prove ownership via original cartridges/Physical Medium that would be kind of fun for a while. Ofcourse each major company in the video games business today has a way of digitally verifying your content purchases. It certainly would drive up prices on eBay and similar sites for vintage software. It’s always tough to control copyright and patents. If only everyone was perfectly honest in all of there dealings.

Debating Ethics and Moral standards are also something that is based on perspective and theology . Which I guess makes this somewhat of a religious discussion. Huh, interesting? I guess I’ll keep doing whatever I feel is right.

Edited August 21, 2018 by adamchevy

[Shawn]

If we end up living in a world where you have to prove ownership via original cartridges/Physical Medium that would be kind of fun for a while. Ofcourse each major company in the video games business today has a way of digitally verifying your content purchases. It certainly would drive up prices on eBay and similar sites for vintage software. It’s always tough to control copyright and patents. If only everyone was perfectly honest in all of there dealings.

Debating Ethics and Moral standards are also something that is based on perspective and theology . Which I guess makes this somewhat of a religious discussion. Huh, interesting? I guess I’ll keep doing whatever I feel is right.

 

That worked when Metallica went after all the Napster downloaders. I had a friend get a letter sent to him about illegally downloading some mp3's and he sent in a copy of the UPC off the back of his audio tape prooving he legally owned it. It obviously worked as they didn't contact him again.

[adamchevy]

 

That worked when Metallica went after all the Napster downloaders. I had a friend get a letter sent to him about illegally downloading some mp3's and he sent in a copy of the UPC off the back of his audio tape prooving he legally owned it. It obviously worked as they didn't contact him again.

That’s one way to handle it. That sounds like a good idea to me. I recently found an old compaq outside where I work in a dumpster . It had Windows ME installed on it with Napster. I should have given it a go before I wiped it and reinstalled Windows 98. I remember that Metallica fiasco. It really tainted my view of the band going forward.