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Legality of having a PC cab in a business?
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Chris:
Still illegal (at least on the MAME side) unless you have licenses for the games, but the consoles would be fine with no access to the general public.
yalborap:

--- Quote from: Chris on December 18, 2006, 05:46:52 pm ---Still illegal (at least on the MAME side) unless you have licenses for the games, but the consoles would be fine with no access to the general public.

--- End quote ---

Would buying the basic board count as a license? Could I just pick those up for far less than a full cabinet and then toss the ROMs into a MAME cab for the employee consumption?
GoPodular.com:
No, it wouldn't count.  A little while back there was a company that got in trouble for selling an emulated game even though they had the actual ROM chips in the machine.  I don't see a difference between using and selling (in this context) other than the odds of being caught.

The only way to get a license for a ROM is to get a license for a ROM.  Anything else is technically illegal* under the DMCA and is copyright infringement, so take a look at the funds you have to spend on a lawyer, compare that to the odds of being caught, and act accordingly.

*unless you buy a board and then rip the ROM yourself and use it for "personal use only".  Whatever "personal use" is...  I don't know, argue it in court.  Same with downloading vs. ripping, someone (other than me) can pay to have that settled in court as well.
yalborap:
Well crap. Guess it's unmodded consoles or genuine arcade cabs only.

Out of curiosity, what's generally cheaper? Neo Geo arcade games, or the home versions?
danny_galaga:


if it JUST for the employees in a lunch room or something and you arent charging them id say go for it. yes, its illegal but whos gonna snitch? hell, i sometimes play galaga on a four in one cocktail at lunch at the local supermarket. that sure as hell is illegal and hes making money from it!

id especially say yes if your business isnt tech related and the employees arent particularly savvy about these laws...
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