Is it legal to own a ROM of a game from a compilation?

[MrPopo]

I think it's going to be very interesting to see what things look like in 20-30 years. The digital age has really thrown a curveball at the standard methods of enforcing intellectual property laws. And when you consider that most of these violations are distributed for free and you see less sympathy for the rights holders. If the music pirates were selling albums at $2 a download and the RIAA came down on them you would see a lot of people agreeing with what the RIAA was doing. But when people start giving shit away for free it really helps keep the public from calling it a real crime. As a result, the various companies end up coming off as bullies and their tactics backfire.

[Dylan]

Yeah, as of right now I can't see anyway to control it either. Maybe I'll be entering product keys for my albums someday. Blech.

[noiseredux]

Im not suggesting you go out and download PS2 or PSP games that are still for sale, but morally i dont see a problem in downloading a NES game, especially if I own a copy of the game myself.

I'm not even talking about weather anybody thinks it's okay or not. I'm strictly saying that I can understand that there are some people who might say "hey, I'm NOT going to do illegal things." And that to me is not really crazy!

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

It's like me now vs me a few years ago.

A few years ago I would pirate everything I could get my hands on.

Now, I buy everything I want to play, watch, listen to etc... legitimately as I found that simply acquiring all the game I wanted whenever I wanted them was making me value the games and their gameplay less and less.

[noiseredux]

I agree ModMan. When I first got into emulation, I downloaded like every NES, SNES, SMS, Genesis, etc rom from my childhood. But y'know what? I barely even played em. Now, when I want a game... I research it. I take the time to hunt it down in the condition I want, for the price I want. And then I actually value it and play it. Just saying.

[elvis]

I think it's going to be very interesting to see what things look like in 20-30 years. The digital age has really thrown a curveball at the standard methods of enforcing intellectual property laws.

I think the answer lies not in "enforcing" anything, but making "buying easier than pirating".

iTunes is successful because it's easy to use, and songs are a reasonable price (some would disagree, but I think overall it's reasonable). People found it a whole lot easier to buy a song legally than they did to use Napster/Limewire/Torrent/whatever. Plus buying "direct from the source" ensured a higher quality product (something that's yet to happen for ROMs, but we'll get there one day I'm sure).

GOG is a clever solution. I was keen to grab a copy of "Beyond Good and Evil". I couldn't find it second hand anywhere, and was going to download it via torrent. GOG pops up, and now I can buy it for $10, without DRM and without hassle. Perfect!

I agree totally: the next few decades are going to be very interesting. I see half the industry fighting to keep their legacy ways of DRM and copy protection. And I see half embracing digital distribution and realising that getting $10 for old copies of games is better than making nothing and wasting money on court cases. No prizes for guessing which group I predict will die out, and which will go on to prosper.

[Dylan]

I see half the industry fighting to keep their legacy ways of DRM and copy protection. And I see half embracing digital distribution and realising that getting $10 for old copies of games is better than making nothing and wasting money on court cases. No prizes for guessing which group I predict will die out, and which will go on to prosper.

For $No I'm betting on the latter.

[GSZX1337]

"Piracy" is not piracy. It's copyright infringement, which is still illegal.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/piracy

the unauthorized reproduction or use of a copyrighted book, recording, television program, patented invention, trademarked product, etc

Also, I (and the image) never said Piracy wasn't illegal.

[elvis]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/piracy

the unauthorized reproduction or use of a copyrighted book, recording, television program, patented invention, trademarked product, etc

Sorry chief, but a web dictionary covering inaccurate slang designed by big corporates to try and paint a menacing picture of file sharers doesn't count as accurate in my books.

When big business can't legitimately find a way to stop unauthorised digital redistribution, they reduce themselves to name calling. There are real world criminals and pirates out there still in this day and age - people who kidnap, loot and plunder (on the seas, or otherwise). But in order to get some attention in the media and courts, more attention-grabbing names are necessary than "copyright infringers".

The word "pirate" as a blanket definition for copyright infringement is childish and stupid. More to the point, it's incorrect, and pretty much sums up the desperation of the media giants.

I can only wonder what the world would be like today if every dollar wasted on lawyers and litigation was instead invested into new and legal digital distribution systems for copyright materials. I suspect we'd have far fewer "starving artists", for starters.

[crux]

I, for one, will never understand why the value of a physical object containing a digital format should go out the window once the developer/publisher has been paid. I don't see physical copies as just a niche for collectors. To use an extreme example, would it be right for someone to cease purchasing any current gen games and simply wait until the publisher ceases production before downloading the ROM? After all, many ROMs that people download are simply games they couldn't afford or didn't care to purchase when the games were current.

If nothing else, I believe the item should maintain value simply because the item once did support the developer, and thus the value should transfer through ownership. My values don't change simply based on whether the item is or isn't physically stolen. The fact is someone is being deprived of a potential sale and my "morals" aren't nearly infallible enough to justify depriving them of that sale. (Well, usually. The US version of Magical Chase is way too goddamn expensive.)