It's every bit as illegal (I'm not sure how much that might be) to download "abandonware" as it is to download other stuff. You'll almost certainly never be prosecuted for anything old enough not to be making money for a company, but it's still technically illegal. ROM sites out there make up all sorts of justifications ("we only let you download games we actually own!" "you can only download these ROMs for 24 hours if you don't own the game yourself" ), but they're just trying to make people comfortable downloading from them. Personally, my guess is that downloading a ROM would hold up as legal in court if you could show that you own the physical copy, since I believe you're allowed to create backups for personal use, but I don't really know.
It's pretty clear that downloading a game you don't own, though, is illegal. It's just rarely enforced for anything old.
It's pretty clear that downloading a game you don't own, though, is illegal. It's just rarely enforced for anything old.
Is there Super Mario Brothers for the computer?
08/09/2009 07:57:12 AM
- 845 Views
VNES to the rescue
08/09/2009 06:20:08 PM
- 707 Views
Or any of a dozen other sites showing up on the first google results page. *NM*
08/09/2009 07:17:34 PM
- 322 Views
This is very nice
08/09/2009 07:59:08 PM
- 696 Views
You probably could with a downloadable emulator.
08/09/2009 09:23:38 PM
- 644 Views
Emulators are legal (at least in the US, so yeah, check with Ben); ROMs are not.
09/09/2009 01:15:15 AM
- 628 Views
True, but the distinction is only a matter of semantics.
09/09/2009 01:53:09 AM
- 591 Views
Some roms are considered abandonware. However I assume Mario Brothers is not. *NM*
09/09/2009 09:30:00 PM
- 382 Views
Abandonware is not a legal term.
10/09/2009 12:19:19 AM
- 575 Views
Indeed
10/09/2009 12:28:30 AM
- 564 Views
Yeah there's not really any point.
10/09/2009 12:32:10 AM
- 548 Views
Well, they've made their money off me....cause that's the only reason I ever end up there. *NM*
10/09/2009 12:42:06 AM
- 260 Views