Why are roms illegal?

[The Walrus]

I've just downloaded VBA so i can play the demo of A.U.D studio's Megaman New Horizon and want to know why roms are illegal

[Boja]

Because its stealing the game. If you own the game you download you're allowed to keep it though, but i think thats a PD rom so you're not breaking the law

[Hobo]

PP said it. MMNH is a PD Rom. Meaning all can use it, as long...as obviously, you don't claim the Rom as your own. The one thing I dislike though is when people mess with roms and replace characters and Text in the game. I once came across Megaman and Bass...and well....

Bass: He must be the one they call Fart

Wtf?

[alexoldershaw]

hahahaha:g-laugh: "bass is the one they call fart."? oh man, thats lame haha. but yeah if you own the game its not illegal.

[GG Hendrix]

"Why is stealing copyrighted material illegal?"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE A FUCKING IDIOT IS WHY."

[BlueSonnet]

It's not the same as walking into a store and shoplifting that nice packaged game but you're still getting a game for free after the (hard) work the creators had put into making it. Common sense, dude.

I should also remind you that whilst roms are illegal, the save files are alright around here.

[Rainbow Dash]

I don't think he was aware that only the copywrited material is legal. Megaman: New Horizon is a game made by fans that freely distribute it as a ROM.

[Blackbeltdude]

hahahaha:g-laugh: "bass is the one they call fart."? oh man, thats lame haha. but yeah if you own the game its not illegal.

That's actually not true. If you already owned the game, then downloading a ROM of that same game would be like having bought 2 copies of it. (Except, you took one for free, instead of buying it.)

It's funny how New Horizon is causing this buzz. :P Guess I'll post that thread about it now... it's been long enough.

[Boja]

ROMs are backups of the game, so yes you are allowed to keep them at least thats what all the rom sites say :P

[Pinkie Pie]

Technically you're supposed to only have roms of backups you made yourself.

But in the case of most games therse no way anyone could prove I DIDN'T make a back up of them.

PD Roms (such as New Horizions) are NOT illegal. Rom backups are not illegal (despite what companies may want to say.)

Rom downloads, perticularly of games you dont own/intend to buy are.

[sovietcommando]

but yeah if you own the game its not illegal.
I do remember making this point before:

Can I Download a Nintendo ROM from the Internet if I Already Own the Authentic Game?

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.

What Does Nintendo Think of the Argument that Emulators are Actually Good for Nintendo Because it Promotes the Nintendo Brand to PC Users and Leads to More Sales?

Distribution of an emulator developed to play illegally copied Nintendo software hurts Nintendo's goodwill, the millions of dollars invested in research & development and marketing by Nintendo and its licensees. Substantial damages are caused to Nintendo and its licensees. It is irrelevant whether or not someone profits from the distribution of an emulator. The emulator promotes the play of illegal ROMs , NOT authentic games. Thus, not only does it not lead to more sales, it has the opposite effect and purpose.

Haven't the Copyrights for Old Games Expired?

U.S. copyright laws state that copyrights owned by corporations are valid for 75 years from the date of first publication. Because video games have been around for less than three decades, the copyrights of all video games will not expire for many decades to come.

Information found on Nintendo's legal information page (http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp).

Call me a hypocrite (since I own emulators) if you want, but this is what found.

Anyways, A.U.D studio's Megaman New Horizon is a public domain ROM because it is a homemade ROM rather than a copied image of a commercial version.

[Kuja]

I bet you any money, that even tho ROMS are meant to be illegal, half of this forum has them

[alexoldershaw]

wow, okay, i guess i was wrong. :g-drop: I apollogize for not knowing but i dont have enough time to search the internet for this sort of thing, same goes for this forum:g-Gaga:

[Perks]

I don't see videogames companies suing people for owning ROMs of games they don't already own. I always thought the UK at least had a fair use law for media and you were allowed to keep backups but these laws don't exist in the UK. I'm saying you won't be in much trouble because it's similar to when it was found out that copying music off a CD onto an iPod was illegial, but the BPI (the British record company collective) have said they're not going to take any action; there's no point in suing most of the UK population and probably no use to sue someone for downloading a copy of a game that you're unlikely to find in the shops anymore anyway.

This doesn't make sense, sorry! But if you want to play an old game, go eBay for it or go to Gamestation. Much more fun to play it properly; keyboards make rubbish SNES controllers.

[alexoldershaw]

yes. keyboards suck ass. BUT you could just buy a game controller for games on your pc :g-laugh:

[gagaman]

Or do emulation on a Dreamcast/PSP/GP2X/Chipped X-Box.