On Tue, Jun 29, 2004 at 08:12:52AM -0700, Josh Triplett wrote: > Andrew Suffield wrote: > > On Sun, Jun 27, 2004 at 09:12:03PM -0400, Anthony DeRobertis wrote: > > > >>> That second case is pretty much where we stand with a *lot* of > >>> game console emulators out there -- the only way to get data to > >>> use with them is to break the law. Wonderful. > >> > >>Is it illegal if I own a game cartridge, and dump it? That part > >>probably isn't; US copyright law, at least, give me permission to make > >>a backup copy. > > > > I'm not aware of any relevant precedents, but at least some of the big > > console companies have stated in the past that (a) this is okay, and > > (b) it doesn't have to be a dump of *your* cartridge either - you just > > have to own one. > > Really? I would be interested to know which console companies, since > most of them try to pretend that emulation is always illegal.
Sega at least; they have even participated in the development of emulators for various console platforms (notably including the megadrive). If you ask the subsidiary "Sega of America, Inc." you'll probably get a contradictory answer though. Nintendo are the only ones I'm aware of that try to pretend console emulators aren't legal (sheer sophistry though; they claim outright "this thing is illegal because it can be used for illegal purposes"). Sony have given a stream of conflicting messages about the playstation platforms. Their legal efforts focus on copyright (bios image) and patent issues. They are in a rather uncomfortable position, because it was the "Sony vs Universal Studios" case that said VHS recorders are legal - they don't really want to disrupt that. -- .''`. ** Debian GNU/Linux ** | Andrew Suffield : :' : http://www.debian.org/ | `. `' | `- -><- |
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