The DMCA and The Abandonware Issue...

Post by **racketboy** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:21 pm

This was a big topic on Digg and the gaming sites a small while ago, but I thought I would bring it up here.

http://sciencefictionobserver.blogspot. ... nware.html
http://digg.com/gaming_news/USA_Legalizes_Abandonware

From what I can tell, the new addition to the DMCA doesn't make abandonware freely distributable and such, but allows us to break copyright protection for obsolete systems.

What are your interpretations of this?
Would this make something like a Sega Saturn modchip completely legal?
What other things could this make legal?

Post by **Daigr** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:36 pm

Basically if the company who made the software isn't making any money from the software then it is legal to copy.

But what about this whole virtual console and xbox live downloading.

Sure Nintendo isn't manufacturing Nes carts anymore but they are distributing the content of the games for sale. Some xbox live games are they not old arcade games too?

Edit

I really don't think copying and distributing roms, isos in this case should be legal then. Unless the company who owns the certain game is no longer in business. At any point a certain company could make their games available for sale whether it be download or put out a remake.

I think I'm on both sides of the fence.

Post by **metaleggman** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:44 pm

Honestly, I don't really care if it's "legal". I only do what I think is right. I think if I take original NES roms from the internet and I support the original NES by buying original hardware and games, then I'm doing my job. Same thing for SNES and Saturn. I've never gotten into emulating consoles I don't own. Hell, I've only really played one N64 rom all the way through.

Post by **Perseid** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:55 am

That blog got it all wrong. The DMCA ruling in question does not pertain to downloading or Abadonia, which are both still illegal. All it means is that it is now legal to break the copy protections of unsupported systems for the purpose of preserving that disk, and since it is only an exemption to the DMCA all copyright laws still apply. I don't think it would apply to modchips because modchips are for playing copies not making them.

As cool as abandonware sites are, they are just as illegal as a site full of PS2 ISOs. It's just that the copyright holders either don't have the ability to sue or don't care.

Post by **ImportBoy** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:26 am

Would this make something like a Sega Saturn modchip completely legal?

Legal? No. Well unless you live in Australia or so I hear. Though I really don't think you'll ever run into legal trouble selling Saturn mod chips - in fact I'd think the chances of that happening decrease everyday. The Saturn has been dead commerically for over 8 years. Sega doesn't make any money from it nor do any of the third party developers.

By the way Racket, I read on another thread your considering stopping selling the mod chips? If this due to your supplier or legal issues?

Basically if the company who made the software isn't making any money from the software then it is legal to copy.

Not technical legal, but I could care less in these situations.

But what about this whole virtual console and xbox live downloading.

To late I think. If they had done this years ago it would have been great. I just don't see people (like myself) buying the original, not enhanced in any way, games when they've been able to download and emulate them for free for years. Of course though you have your mainstream users who've don't even know what the word emulate means, best to target them. We'll see how the sales figures do!

Post by **racketboy** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 5:54 pm

ImportBoy wrote:By the way Racket, I read on another thread your considering stopping selling the mod chips? If this due to your supplier or legal issues?

A bit of both.
I don't really want the worry of legal issues.
Maybe I'm a bit paranoid.
I don't know.