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a possibly insane idea
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Fozzy The Bear:

--- Quote from: DJ_Izumi on March 29, 2008, 07:30:47 pm ---Simply put, I think it would just be a lot cheaper and easier to take a 1-2ghz PC and use a dedicated emulator in the box.  Especially since, to replicate an arcade board you would need to have that board on hand to backward engineer or very detailed design papers that would be nearly impossible to obtain.

--- End quote ---

It would if it's just for himself..... but that still doesn't get round his legal question for commercial use of the machine.

As you say.... buying a cab is his best option if he wants to use it commercially. If it's just for himself then Mame!

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
Ummon:

--- Quote from: Fozzy The Bear on March 29, 2008, 07:35:14 pm ---
As you say.... buying a cab is his best option if he wants to use it commercially.

--- End quote ---

But he would still need local licenses, right?
Fozzy The Bear:

--- Quote from: Ummon on March 29, 2008, 10:02:07 pm ---
--- Quote from: Fozzy The Bear on March 29, 2008, 07:35:14 pm ---
As you say.... buying a cab is his best option if he wants to use it commercially.

--- End quote ---

But he would still need local licenses, right?

--- End quote ---

Not necessarily.....  In the UK there is no licence required at all for video games. Licencing is only required on fruit machines and gambling machines.

So it really depends what his local laws are.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

RayB:

--- Quote from: Fozzy The Bear on March 29, 2008, 06:01:52 pm ---That's a very grey area Ray. The trouble would come with the software that forms the  design of the custom chips. 90% of arcade boards have at least 1 or more custom chips on them. You could I suppose double blind reverse engineer them, but that's beyond the bounds of possibility unless you spend thousands doing it.

The patents issue is not the same worldwide. I believe that in the UK we actually have stronger and longer lasting engineering design patents. This is of course not to mention the design copyright issue which goes well beyond the question of patents. The original designer could sue, even if the patent had expired if the intention is to copy the original product. It would require a test case through the courts to define that and I don't think the original poster wants to be that test case.
--- End quote ---
You're just repeating what I said. If there's any software on a chip (like a BIOS or similar) then there's still a copyright hurdle. Also, Space Invaders uses an 8080 cpu. Not sure why you'd assume it's all discrete.

As for patent durations, everyone knows only the US matters. ;-) OK just kidding! What matters is the jurisdiction of the law where the patent is registered, but my claim of 20 years is pretty spot on. Just read about Famicom/NES clones here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System_hardware_clone#Post-patent_Famiclones

Fozzy The Bear:

--- Quote from: RayB on March 30, 2008, 03:56:46 pm ---You're just repeating what I said. If there's any software on a chip (like a BIOS or similar) then there's still a copyright hurdle.
--- End quote ---

Ermmm no I wasn't repeating what you said... the point I was making was that the only way to overcome that is to double blind reverse engineer them at a staggering cost.

As for Space Invaders.... sorry my error.....

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
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