MAME and the law.

[ark_ader]

Copyright violation is not criminal.  Civil action definitely, but you could not go to jail for having illegal roms in your house.

You could not go to jail for having a mame cab in free play in a Wimpy Burger Bar.

Jump in here any time Haze.....

Well you might want to ask Mr Foley........  Hey whats up with him lately?

[bradx]

its illegal but who cares?  no different than downloading mp3s and millions of people do that guilt free, so i dont think theres an ethical problem.  shoot, i am a musician myself and make my music available as high quality downloads for free right when its released to prevent poor quality rips from circulating.  a cd or a record or video game cab or video game disc are things, downloaded material is like the wind.  most of these games are orphaned works, meaning they have not been available legally in a long time.  it is the copyright law that is way off base in this case, in my opinion.  the term of copyright lasts much longer than needed.  unless they are actively selling the games they should be legal to download for nonprofit use. 

so now we get to the coin door question.  my cab has a credit button and a coin door.  i use it as a piggy bank, and usually have a stack of quarters sitting next to it.  if someone plays some games and wants to voluntarily donate a couple quarters thats ok, it will never come close to adding up to the time and investment i have in the thing in work and parts.  i will be an old white haired man long before a couple quarters here and there ever add up to a profit. 

 

[WhereEaglesDare]

Copyright violation is not criminal.  Civil action definitely, but you could not go to jail for having illegal roms in your house

It is a federal offense.  It is also one of the few powers the federal government was afforded in the Constitution.  This is why many cabs have a FBI warning sticker on them somewhere, mine did.

Next question, has anyone been punished for roms?  I heard Nintendo sued the hell out of some guy recently over some Pirated Wii Torrents. 

[DaveMMR]

Copyright violation is not criminal.  Civil action definitely, but you could not go to jail for having illegal roms in your house

Next question, has anyone been punished for roms?  I heard Nintendo sued the hell out of some guy recently over some Pirated Wii Torrents.  

Okay so we're talking MAME Roms now.  Most people who download them belong to a relatively small group of people who are arcade enthusiasts and have them for personal use (not counting the unscrupulous fellows who put them in a public cab).  It's illegal, sure, but it's a relatively minor blip on the game publishers' collective radar.   Most casual computer users know not of MAME or would be immediately turned-off by the program being not so "user friendly".  "I have to read instructions?  Nuts to that!"  

Additionally, MAME Roms are for games not readily available in stores in their current format (i.e. arcade accurate).  You can say Centipede is available to purchase for various formats, but not so much in its original form found on the chips in a genuine machine (especially now that Star Roms is defunct).  

The Wii Torrents, OTOH, is something Nintendo will come down hard on you for providing to the public for download.   Same for Microsoft, Sony, Activision, EA, etc. with their game properties.  These are games that are new, available in stores and will be making money for publishers for quite some time.  Downloading these games is clearly just wanting "something for nothing" and, as its in direct competition with legitimate outlets, sharing them for others is a serious offense.   

As an aside, I always read about those who pirate all their PC games and then complain that new releases are getting priority releases on consoles or go overboard with DRM.   So they "teach them a lesson" by pirating the new games.  That cycle continues until PC gaming is neutered and verging on extinct.  

So yeah, we've all downloaded MAME Roms but I don't see it as a catalyst for lost profits for any of these companies.  When it's a moral dilemma for me, I try to patronize the publishers and will purchase their new releases (or, in the case of Nintendo - even their VC releases).  

I know it's all just justification to rationalize something that is illegal, but at least we're all trying to be good, even when it's not entirely possible.  

[Vulgar Soul]

Lol, well uh goin back to my original concern...I'm not sure how many people here actually put working coin doors on their cabs or just scrap it since it's "questionable" to even use it anyway. But if you put one on your cab - of course first and foremost for personal use and authenticity - considering either written law or your own personal ethics; would you never, ever under any context allow people to put a coin, or even alternative tokens or something, in it?

[vidmouse]

One time a bunch of neighborhood kids were playing over at my house.
When one of the older ones saw I had cab in the basement, he said
"awesome!" and said he was going to go home to get his quarters.

The look on his face when I told him not to worry about it
was worth far more than any quarters I could ever gain.

[DaveMMR]

Lol, well uh goin back to my original concern...I'm not sure how many people here actually put working coin doors on their cabs or just scrap it since it's "questionable" to even use it anyway. But if you put one on your cab - of course first and foremost for personal use and authenticity - considering either written law or your own personal ethics; would you never, ever under any context allow people to put a coin, or even alternative tokens or something, in it?

I don't think it's at all "questionable".   Your intentions have nothing to do with a piece of hardware.  You can just as well charge someone $5 to play your cab all he/she wants.   Conversely, I have a coin door but there's a bucket of tokens nearby and the key is in it for those moments we just want to flick the switch.

If someone drops a quarter in there from their own pocket - even when I have all the tokens set up for them, I'm not going to jump in front of it like it was a bullet heading towards someone more important than me.    That's hardly enough for the feds to knock down your door.

[WhereEaglesDare]

Lol, well uh goin back to my original concern...I'm not sure how many people here actually put working coin doors on their cabs or just scrap it since it's "questionable" to even use it anyway. But if you put one on your cab - of course first and foremost for personal use and authenticity - considering either written law or your own personal ethics; would you never, ever under any context allow people to put a coin, or even alternative tokens or something, in it?

I don't think it's at all "questionable".   Your intentions have nothing to do with a piece of hardware.  You can just as well charge someone $5 to play your cab all he/she wants.   Conversely, I have a coin door but there's a bucket of tokens nearby and the key is in it for those moments we just want to flick the switch.

If someone drops a quarter in there from their own pocket - even when I have all the tokens set up for them, I'm not going to jump in front of it like it was a bullet heading towards someone more important than me.    That's hardly enough for the feds to knock down your door.

You got a tax sticker on that cab there?!  OH MAN You gonna get the state IRS on you.

[Slippyblade]

Taxes.  That's how the big boys get taken down!  Anyone remember Al Capone?  All that mafia biz and they nail him on taxes...  Good stuff.

[solidteezme]

One time a bunch of neighborhood kids were playing over at my house.

Hahaha 

[Vulgar Soul]

One time a bunch of neighborhood kids were playing over at my house.
When one of the older ones saw I had cab in the basement, he said
"awesome!" and said he was going to go home to get his quarters.

The look on his face when I told him not to worry about it
was worth far more than any quarters I could ever gain.

I hear that buddy!

That's really what it's all about, I just kinda like the authenticity of droppin quarters and gaming on a cab, old-school style.

...And hey, what's all this I hear about taxes?

[atomikbohm]

... IRS ... Okay my MAME machine doesn't have a credit button.  I have 2 coin mechs modified to accept tokens.  I've been through my 500 token bag 2x since getting the coin mechs working, that means I owe the IRS 100 tokens???  I'll write the check and send it in tonight!!!!