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| Lactose:
Has there ever been a court case involving mame cabinets, or has their legality been decided? I'm looking into building one that would go in an office and I don't want to expose the company to risk. I figured that probably meant ditching the Nintendo games, but what about the rest of them? Any insight into this would be appreciated. |
| Sensei:
Mame (the emulator) is completely legal. Playing Mame emulated games is completely legal. Playing and possessing ROMS you paid for is completely legal. But I suppose possessing (and therefore playing) ROMs you do not own I do believe is illegal. So, it would be the equivalent of the question: Is it ok legally for my company to possess stolen goods. Probably not. |
| Bones:
There is no law against putting your computer and monitor in a big box shaped like an arcade cabinet. However, legally speaking, you must own the game PCB's to have legal rights to the ROMs. (There are some ROM's that are exceptions.) Somebody else will speak up here and correct me if I am wrong but this is my understanding. I have also assumed you will not be charging people to play the cabinet..... |
| DreamArcades:
Visit www.starroms.com for legal roms. Also, there are some capcom ROMS you can buy, such as street fighter, and 1942 that run on the HiVE emulator. There's also a lot of games that have been ported to the PC, such as Dragon's lair and Midway arcade treasures. As far as putting it in your office, I can't say for sure, but I'm fairly sure you are OK. I have one machine with over 100 legal games on it, most are emulated. -Mike |
| RayB:
I want you all to think about one thing... There's a difference between CRIMINAL law and COPYRIGHT law. With a Criminal law, a police officer can arrest you on sight for your offense. With a Copyright law, a police officer cannot touch you. It is up to the copyright owner(s) to initiate a prosecution. Getting caught with cocaine in your possession is Criminal. Getting caught with ROMs in your possession is copyright infringement. Nothing will happen. Make sure the cabinet is set to free play. |
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