Gray area rights to ROMs

[Tanooki]

I'm curious if anyone has any case info on this or whatever, but earlier this year for their 25th SNK Blew out over 20 Neo-Geo games in a humble bundle which were all stand alone individual emulators with the core ROM files right off their MVS cartridges in each to be played.

I'm sure you know where this is going, and yeah in the greater picture as well, if it's not being sold as a compilation (like Sega Genesis PS3 release) and they're individual like that since you're buying a ROM+emulator do you own the ROM too? I'm curious if this was ever a clear thing or not.

[fastbilly1]

I am not a lawyer, I will let one of the real lawyers talk about that, but I can address this comment:

core ROM files right off their MVS cartridges

If by right off the MVS carts you mean taken from a NoXOR release:

[Erik_Twice]

Whether it's legal or not, I think you are more than entitled to run an emulator using ROMs if you have bought the games like that.

[Pulsar_t]

Nobody is going to sue you for using dumped roms, but if your ethics stop you, let's just say there are thousands of more important concerns.. As for publishers re-selling their old stuff for each generation (see: Nintendo), it's greedy.

[Erik_Twice]

As for publishers re-selling their old stuff for each generation (see: Nintendo), it's greedy.

Eh, you could say the same of books, really.

[noiseredux]

And movies... And music... And...

[Tanooki]

I don't know anything about noxor whatever that is, probably shouldn't care either. I was just wondering in a case of one offs like that using ROMs if you buy the single game package, do you really own the game? I know you have something more overhead to it when you consider a thing such as a compilation package with a front end with all the bells and whistles. I mean couldn't someone maybe pull a ROM off that install in theory and fix a broken board perhaps with one of the files and if so, would that be legit?

I'm just curious about the minutia about it all if it's a known.

[noiseredux]

I'm not really sure Tanooki. Similarly, I have an Atari compilation on PC and it is literally just ROMs in the folder that are compatible with any 2600 emulator.

[Tanooki]

Yeah same here with that Neo Geo package is just the same.

One of my favorites is Neo Turf Masters going back to the days it was new and then more thanks to that pocket color release as well. I went into the directory, you neo-geo.zip and turfmast.zip The first has every region of bios plus the universal bios up through 2.3 in there. The Turf one has a correct ROM set point blank not even in hiding sitting there.

That was more again why I was curious. Did I buy the ROM for basically like 65 cents or something (I paid the max to get the full bundle which I think was around $15~ at the time) and got 23 games out of it I actually control and own in this case? Or is there some shady retarded law out there which will claim I got a 'license' out of it. I mean the stuff here if I had a chip and a chip reader I could restore a busted board with it.

I'm quite tempted with my signature thing down there to up and lift that game list into my new neo-geo section I created since I do own the ROMS (unless I don't?) other than the fact they're not on a physical cartridge.

[marurun]

Here's the neat thing... Groups like NoXOR that release ROM files are clearly performing an illegal activity in violating copyright. Derivative works that are copyright violations, like ROM files with custom header text or trainers, are, under US law, effectively the property of the original copyright owner. Not by default, but it takes only the tiniest bit of legal action for a company to make it so. So those NoXOR ROM releases? For all practical intents and purposes, owned by SNK, including the added text. So why go through the trouble of extracting your own ROM files when someone else has done it for you and you have a clear, easy path to full ownership should they ever bother to complain?

I'm relatively certain these ROM groups never thought they were actually doing SNK a favor (despite interesting rhetoric to the contrary).