[Unusual_Rex]

My friend keeps telling me that roms are illegal. I relize that say the new ones that are being made (say like Halo 2) are illegal but are CPS2 ones from like 1994-1999 illegal? Because when ever I go to play my arcade emulator he says "Were are you going? To play you illegal games?" and it's getting REALLY annoying. I tell him that if the companys aren't making any money off them then it's not illegal is this true? (I'm not putting them on to a cartridge and selling them BTW.)

 

[Allnatural]

Whether a company still manufactures a game is irrelevant. If the copyrights are still active (almost always the case) then it is illegal to possess the roms. Unless, of course, you've dumped them from hardware you own. In the case of cps2, you'd have to buy the PCBs from the arcade machines and dump the roms yourself.

 

[Khelben]

All roms are illegal (CPS, CPS2, SNES, N64 and so on) unless you own the cartridge or arcade board of the game or the game's publisher no longer claims his rights to it.

EDIT: Lol, I've been typing posts too long lately

 

[Unusual_Rex]

So even if they don't make money off it it's still illegal? Because they own the copyrights?

 

[Khelben]

Exactly.

 

[Player-X]

The legality of the roms also depends on the local laws in your country

 

[MaZa]

So even if they don't make money off it it's still illegal? Because they own the copyrights?

Though the sanity of illegality is heavily questionable when it comes to C64 and NES era roms and such so most consider them Abandonware and are okay with it. Where goes the line between YOUR morality and will to follow laws is up to you, but yes its still illegal-to-the-core in papers depending the country you are living in. NGEmu follows the laws of U.S. so i do not know exactly what is its policy on this thing. Someone enlighten me?

I dont know anything about CPS2 and what games it has and what timeline so i cant say a thing.

 

[Aided Onslaught]

Does anyone personally believe that comapanys should make an Abandonware list? I mean if they are going to remake a game or some sort like that then you can't just download it, but if they have a game that didn't sell well and was really crapy, why not just let people have it after say 7 years? I think that would be great if companys would consider that sort of thing, but it iwll never happen.

 

[Vanit]

What if the company that holds the rights falls apart, Acclaim for example?

 

[Allnatural]

What if the company that holds the rights falls apart, Acclaim for example?

Typically, a company that goes under will have it's assets purchased by another company. I assume all copyrights will transfer to the new owner, not go PD.

 

[MaZa]

Typically, a company that goes under will have it's assets purchased by another company. I assume all copyrights will transfer to the new owner, not go PD.

And if all copyrights are not included on transfer contract, copyrights are still owned by the old owner on papers. That is different story if he gives a damn about his old companys old dead projects...

 

[DarkAurora]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the copyright lasts as long as the country where the copyright is owned, no matter what the laws are in your own country. So that means that a ROM of a game developed in the United States that is less than 75 years old is illegal. I do not know how long copyrights last in Japan. Perhaps someone here can inform us.

 

[Coolsvilleman]

besides cant you resubmit a copyright? like i dont think 75 years after mario was made nintendo wants to lose that copyright.