Legal to play ROMS?

[Kherr]

As long as you physically own a copy of the game then the US law states that it's legal for you to own a backup, which is what a ROM is... a Digital Backup. :3

[Auzern]

Greetings.
I wanted to share more info regarding this topic.
I will be posting links to facts and sources below.

Can I Download a Nintendo ROM from the Internet if I Already Own the Authentic Game?[/url]-Nintendo

There is a good deal of misinformation on the Internet regarding the backup/archival copy exception. It is not a "second copy" rule and is often mistakenly cited for the proposition that if you have one lawful copy of a copyrighted work, you are entitled to have a second copy of the copyrighted work even if that second copy is an infringing copy. The backup/archival copy exception is a very narrow limitation relating to a copy being made by the rightful owner of an authentic game to ensure he or she has one in the event of damage or destruction of the authentic. Therefore, whether you have an authentic game or not, or whether you have possession of a Nintendo ROM for a limited amount of time, i.e. 24 hours, it is illegal to download and play a Nintendo ROM from the Internet.

According to Nintendo, it is illegal to play Roms on Emulators even you Own the game

ESA Policy-ESA

Isn't it legal to copy computer and video games as a backup as long as you own a legitimate copy?

U.S. Copyright laws permit making a "backup" copy of computer programs for archival purposes. However, the right to make backup copies of computer programs for archival purposes, as embodied in 17 U.S.C. Section 117(2), does not in any way authorize the owner of a copy of a video or computer game to post or download a copy of that game to or from the Internet or make such copy available to other people for their use. Section 117(2) only gives the owner of the copy a right to make an archival copy of the actual copy that he/she legally possesses, not to make a copy of the ROM that someone else legally possesses, nor to post an archival copy of his/her original copy for distribution. The law clearly does NOT provide any right to sell "backup" copies. In fact, Section 117 is quite explicit in stating that any archival copy prepared under Section 117(2) can only be transferred to another person if, and only if: A) The original copy is also transferred, and only with the authorization of the copyright owner, and B) The transfer is part of the sale of all rights in the program.
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Some people think that people making emulators and ROMs are helping publishers by making old games available that are no longer being sold by the copyright owner. They say that this does not hurt anyone and allows gamers to play old favorites. What's the problem?

The problem is that it's illegal to make or distribute software or hardware emulators or ROMs without the copyright or trademark owners' permission. Moreover, copyrights and trademarks of games are corporate assets that are sometimes sold from one company to another. If these titles are available far and wide, it undermines the value of this intellectual property and adversely affects the copyright owner.

In addition, the assumption that the only games involved are vintage or nostalgia games is incorrect. Many popularly available emulators emulate current game systems. In other words, in many cases, emulator/ROM piracy is affecting games that are still on the market.

Finally, in the current highly competitive market, a top quality game costs millions of dollars to develop, and sometimes double or triple its development costs to market. Software publishers must generate a meaningful return on their investments if they are to continue to meet the growing demand for technologically advanced products. The suggestion that some piracy is benign and not harmful undermines respect for the intellectual property rights on which software companies depend in investing millions of dollars in creating and publishing new games. Piracy of any kind on any scale erodes this foundation.
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Haven't the copyrights for old games (like Atari & Commodore) expired?

U.S. copyright laws state that copyrights owned by corporations are valid for 95 years from the date of first publication. Because video and computer games have been around a little more than three decades, the copyrights of all video and computer programs will not expire for many decades to come.

Strictly says that using Emulation and Roms is illegal according to various US Laws.

Roms Copyright Status-Wikipedia

Chuck Cochems has put forth the argument that copying a legitimate item of software specifically for personal use with an emulator is legally justifiable under principles established by the Sony v. Universal ruling, particularly with regard to personal use being favorable towards justification under the fair use doctrine.

Apart from Nintendo, other companies have not listed its Legal Policy on Terms of Use.

-Romhustler

Files The Rom Hustler provides the public and the internet retrogaming community with the finest selection of Reference Only Material on the web. We offer no illegal files for download and do not in any way condone the pirating of software.

RomHustler.net is not uploading illegal files and also ESA-Protected Roms are removed from their website.


TheOldComputer.com Disclaimer-TheOldComputer

Okay, due to the quasi legal status of ROM images, it is deemed necessary to place a vivid legal disclaimer on this site. Laws vary from country to country on the legality of owning or transmitting ROM images. For the most part, you are required to be in actual possession of the PC Board (PCB) in order to legally retain a copy of the ROM. Check with your local authorities before downloading ANYTHING from this site. Regardless of your actions, maintainers of TheOldComputer.com, will not be held legally responsible. If you download anything from this site, you do so, implying consent that you alone, hold all due responsibility. Warning given. Any software that is on the site against the wishes of an individual or company will be removed without question.

Similar to that of RomHustler but says you need to have an actual possession.

This same type of thread is happening on various websites. Check out the ones on Emulator-Zone and CoolRom.

I have also come across an Article that states that Ryan Carey: Arrested for Nintendo ROM distrubution. The Sources are here:
TomHardware
MadGames
Zophar's Domain
So I went on Archive.org with their Internet Way Back Machine of MacCarey.com in March 2000 and he did host roms on his site (see the image attached for reference). And now its a completely different website.
So apart from MacCarey.com, their is no other ROM site taken down before or after after that case.

Just a Conclusion here:
Video Game Company's will have the Rom taken down from any Rom hosting website according to ESA.
See for details of the games that have been protected by the ESA.
So playing Roms that other corporations have no problems if its only for personal use and not commercial or profit; is not an issue. Except for Nintendo since they have already mentioned in their Terms of Service.
What we are emulating have discontinued. Both the Console and the Game. And by no means are we destroying their profit.

If you buy a modern day USED Game from some person instead of buying it from the store. Isn't that harming the corporations profit for a game that is still being sold?
And now if you buy a used discontinued game for a discontinued console. The price is outrageous. The popular titles are considered more of an Investment than of a game.

Emulation and Roms are barely spoken on the Internet. I just wanted to give my opinion here on this website; cause they are millions who use Roms and emulators. And I'm sure if these discontinued games or consoles were sold in the market today; Majority would buy them.

[Kherr]

Having an emulator is actually legal, as proven when Sony went against Bleem! and Connectix and LOST BOTH CASES, REPEATEDLY.

Just thought I'd share the part that you forgot. :3

[Auzern]

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I did forget to include that.

[Kherr]

You're welcome!

[Auzern]

Just to post some more information to this thread.
I have come across

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http://krikzz.com/

KRIKzz Multiple ROM cartridges and it looks like these are being sold all over the world by the name of

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http://everdrive.us/e107_plugins/links_page/links.php

Everdrive.
It is not emulation but it does require the original console since you are playing on it with the help of games ROM file. Its just like the

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http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=34

RetroZone's PowerPak for NES and they have that for the SNES too.

Also, I have come across a lot of internet-famous reviewers who are using Everdrive Catridges to play ROMS on their consoles and it does perform perfectly.
Here is some of the reviews that I found:-
->

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[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dv-ESFSDd8]LazyGameReviews[/url]

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[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVYjXgtW5k8]MN12Bird[/url]

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[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoPZCxylZyQ]Gamester81[/url]

I am not going off-topic by talking about these types of cartridges; its just that everyone is downloading roms from the internet and no-one cares if you do it for personal use.

And if you think that those reviews are using backed up ROM carts. Well its not. You can easily identify a ROM that is downloaded from the internet by its alphabetical characters.

[RRicci]

I read an article in The San Jose Mercury News aabout 10 years ago, an article talking about emulation. In it, it mentioned that Hasbro owned the rights to Frogger yet it didn't want to go too hard to squash emulation. When I read that, I gained nmew respect for Hasbro.

[Kherr]

That is awesome, good job Hasbro.

[TERMlNATOR]

Some good points made in this thread, i agree to the preservation side of thing for future generation as hardware will soon decline.