Emulation/ROM Legality

[godofrock72]

Okay, I've seen many debates about this. So could somebody clarify it for me?

What I've heard is that emulators are legal, and commercial ROMs are illegal unless you own the original game.

 

[AltF4]

Essentially.

Or, rather, making copies of the ROMs are illegal. You see, the games (or ROMs) are copyrighted. This means that you are not supposed to make copies of the games.

So when you download an emulator for a game system, that emulator is not copyrighted. (or if it is, the maker of the emulator has given you permission to make copies). But when you download a ROM, that is a game which is copyrighted.

For more of a background, try reading my thread here.

 

[Crimson King]

In essence, it is illegal to download a ROM unless you already own the game.

 

[Kirby King]

I don't believe that's true. Fair use entitles you to make an archival(/backup) copy of your game; it doesn't entitle you to a copy however you go about obtaining it.

 

[toon_marth]

You don't see too many people getting in trouble for this. Though ROMS are not necessarily welcome on forums. I recommend not downloading any roms that would be easily obtainable by legal transaction (I.E. a game you can buy at gamestop). I only downlaod ROMs that are either a super rare game, or not available in the US.

 

[AltF4]

The legality of ROM downloading is not clear. There hasn't ever been a court case for one. So Fair Use is certainly in question.

Common sense screams that if you already have purchased the game, no harm can become of you downloading a ROM. But the courts most often do not operate within the bounds of common sense. This is exactly the sort of thing that Fair Use was created to protect. In spirit, it absolutely should fall within Fair Use.

 

[jmlee337]

Well, if not for ROMs, I never would have gotten into smash