ROM question.

[Viciousness]

Hey!

I'm considering posting a bunch of roms in the video game section for different gaming systems. Unless my memory fails me a lot of these roms are actually legal, right?

So, can I? Or are they considered warez?

[Solidus]

Roms are free and legal.

[pozmu]

Yep, they are legal... but you will go to jail for distributing them... and when you get out, you'll go to hell... So yes, they're kinda legal ;p

[Elektrisk]

Roms are free and legal.

I thought they were only legal if you actually owned the video game.

From Wiki:

However, in the U.S. it has been illegal since 1983 for a user to create their own backups of video game ROMs onto other cartridges. This was decided in the court case of Atari v. JS&A. JS&A manufactured a "game backup" device that allowed users to dump their Atari ROMs onto a blank cartridge. JS&A argued that the archival rule allowed for this. The court disagreed, noting that ROM media was not subject to the same volatility as magnetic media (for which the law was created). Thus, not being so relatively vulnerable, ROMs were not applicable under section 17 USC 117(a)(2).

Some games companies, such as Nintendo, print warnings inside their game manuals that they do not allow users to make backup or archival copies. Whether or not these warnings in this specific form can be considered valid contracts is legally questionable. For an overview of relevant issues, see user agreement (EULA), shrink wrap contract, clickwrap, Fair Use, Fair Dealing and DMCA.

[Skawke]

It's illegal to make copies of the rom unless you own the game.

[seannjay]

SNES roms can be played with the ZSNES roms emulator..that's we did last time..


________________________
orange county dui lawyer

[Gone]

Roms are legal in the USA if you already have the game. If you have say a GBA +pokemon (for example) and use a GBA EM and pokemon Rom, its legal.

[Omniscient]

The law in the USA for ROMS has changed. The DMCA changed everything and ROMS are illegal completely even if you own the game. Most websites serving ROMS are old with outdated information or simply don't give a crap.

I won't allow ROM posts. Sorry.

[Gone]

Didn't know that. Thanks for the update Omni.