Is Emulation legal in the US?

[Guest]

Sorry if this is the wrong section. So I've been wondering for a while if emulation is legal in America. I've looked it up and there's lots of controversy. Nintendo discourages it but that could just be for their business. It seems the most common answer is that 4 years after the game is released it is legal to download. I want FACTS. Vote in the poll above on what you think. Also, are hacked roms legal? Stuff like Pokemon dark platinum, pokemon glazed and the like, what do you think on that?

[Vitalius]

Yes, both of those things are legal.

What is illegal is to download a copy of a BIOS or a ROM when you don't own a legit copy of either one of them. A BIOS comes from the console/system itself, so you have to own a console to have a legit copy of a BIOS. A BIOS is pretty much required to be able to emulate something. This is why most emulators won't give you a copy of the BIOS.

In fact, you aren't even supposed to download a BIOS. You are supposed to rip the one off your console using special hardware/software. But obviously very few people have access to that, so most people just download them anyway. 

The actual legal ramifications usually come from selling/distributing the software rather than downloading it yourself. Torrenting means seeding means distributing, so yeah. 

[Excon]

What they dont know wont hurt them

[AnnoyedShelf]

Yes, both of those things are legal.

What is illegal is to download a copy of a BIOS or a ROM when you don't own a legit copy of either one of them. A BIOS comes from the console/system itself, so you have to own a console to have a legit copy of a BIOS. A BIOS is pretty much required to be able to emulate something. This is why most emulators won't give you a copy of the BIOS.

In fact, you aren't even supposed to download a BIOS. You are supposed to rip the one off your console using special hardware/software. But obviously very few people have access to that, so most people just download them anyway. 

The actual legal ramifications usually come from selling/distributing the software rather than downloading it yourself. Torrenting means seeding means distributing, so yeah. 

This is by far the best answer here.

[Guest]

Yes, both of those things are legal.

What is illegal is to download a copy of a BIOS or a ROM when you don't own a legit copy of either one of them. A BIOS comes from the console/system itself, so you have to own a console to have a legit copy of a BIOS. A BIOS is pretty much required to be able to emulate something. This is why most emulators won't give you a copy of the BIOS.

In fact, you aren't even supposed to download a BIOS. You are supposed to rip the one off your console using special hardware/software. But obviously very few people have access to that, so most people just download them anyway. 

The actual legal ramifications usually come from selling/distributing the software rather than downloading it yourself. Torrenting means seeding means distributing, so yeah. 

Okay so with consoles that don't need you to load a BIOS, GBA, SNES, NES, N64 do you think "hack" roms are okay? I mean you can't really own a legit copy except from downloading it.

[Vitalius]

Okay so with consoles that don't need you to load a BIOS, GBA, SNES, NES, N64 do you think "hack" roms are okay? I mean you can't really own a legit copy except from downloading it.

Well, yeah. I think hack ROMS are okay in the sense that people can make them legally, but you can own a legit copy of the parts of the ROM that are copyrighted.

If I take a Pokemon Emerald ROM and hack it to make Flora Sky (a popular Emerald hack), Nintendo still owns every bit of that ROM that came from Emerald. The sprites, the music, the towns, etc etc. Those are still Emerald as far as lawyers are concerned.

If I don't make Flora Sky from scratch, i.e. "it's my own content and not Nintendos", then I would need to own a copy of Pokemon Emerald to download Flora Sky without illegally downloading the bits of it that are from Emerald. 

So no, you can't just download a hacked ROM, such as Flora Sky, and it be fine if you don't own the game that hacked ROM was made from (i.e. Emerald).

[Guest]

Well, yeah. I think hack ROMS are okay in the sense that people can make them legally, but you can own a legit copy of the parts of the ROM that are copyrighted.

If I take a Pokemon Emerald ROM and hack it to make Flora Sky (a popular Emerald hack), Nintendo still owns every bit of that ROM that came from Emerald. The sprites, the music, the towns, etc etc. Those are still Emerald as far as lawyers are concerned.

If I don't make Flora Sky from scratch, i.e. "it's my own content and not Nintendos", then I would need to own a copy of Pokemon Emerald to download Flora Sky without illegally downloading the bits of it that are from Emerald. 

So no, you can't just download a hacked ROM, such as Flora Sky, and it be fine if you don't own the game that hacked ROM was made from (i.e. Emerald).

Alright thanks for clearing that up. I may just have to buy some old games of ebay now. Heck I'll even get flora sky, I own emerald.

[Trik'Stari]

Use a linux thumb drive on a library computer, download whatever you need, and then use it elsewhere.

 

Linux = pushing their shit in

[Hobox]

Let me clear this up even further, despite it being marked answered.

 

 

 

Emulation is 100% legal, no grey-area whatsoever.

 

Downloading a rom is NEVER legal, unless the company that made the game allows it *OR*(rarely) if the game reaches abandonware status.

Even if you own the game, you cannot download a rom. If you want a rom legally, you have to rip it yourself.

 

Rom hacks are NOT legal either. The way around this is ROM PATCHES are distributed, which are instructions for rom hacking tools to use to apply all the changes to a clean, stock rom of a game.

 

Downloading a BIOS is the exact same as a rom, it's NEVER legal. You must rip the BIOS yourself for it to be legal.

 

 

 

And that's how it works. If anyone says anything differently, they are wrong.

[Vitalius]

-snip-

Yep. That^

As dumb as that is, that's how it is.