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wtf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!rom sets for sale?

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boranes:
well just got back from this huge comic book convention called megacon, which is in orlando fl
and what to i stumble upon as im walking around? a guy selling rom set, yes selling!!!!
all of the them sega,snes super nintendo and mame. using such apps as mame 32, zsnes gens and etc. claiming that he wrote a programs to allow his customers to play thousand of gamings..
heres the prices.
mame (hole mame set). 40$
snes,gens, game boy advance ,sega cd (hole set) 25$

unfortunately i was not able to get any info on this fellow or a picture as he "only sells a conventions"
i know this takes place everyday, but the fact that hes claiming to write the program's himself? he had to made at least 1500 to 2000 dollars in a coarse of 3 days!




the guy in the back works at different booth and is no way connected with this scumbag!

Games001:
Actually, there is a fine line here.

It has been said by some that thee is NO legal breach if you sell a CD/DVD ser of ROMS, so long as there is not profit in the sale.  Charging for the time and resources it takes to make the rom set is still a hazzle, but charging for the roms themselves is a 'legal' way to do business.

I agree that the roms need to be protected and they need to be available to ALL persons, not just the lucky few that can afford $500-$3000 per machine.  GO White-Hats!

fixedpigs:

--- Quote from: Games001 on March 10, 2008, 02:03:52 pm ---It has been said by some that thee is NO legal breach if you sell a CD/DVD ser of ROMS, so long as there is not profit in the sale.
--- End quote ---

he wouldn't be wasting his time with them if he wasn't making a profit...

Patent Doc:

--- Quote ---Actually, there is a fine line here.

It has been said by some that thee is NO legal breach if you sell a CD/DVD ser of ROMS, so long as there is not profit in the sale.  Charging for the time and resources it takes to make the rom set is still a hazzle, but charging for the roms themselves is a 'legal' way to do business.

I agree that the roms need to be protected and they need to be available to ALL persons, not just the lucky few that can afford $500-$3000 per machine.  GO White-Hats!
--- End quote ---

Games001

You are incorrect.  Unless this guy has a distribution license for all the ROMS he is providing, what is being done is VERY illegal and, in fact, the selling of ROMS is protected.  You might have heard of copyright.  Well, this very real protection is what covers the games.  You are not allowed to copy for distribution whether you sell or not.  The only gray area is when an individual copies the ROMS they own or has someone do this for them.  This is why people who distribute ROMS provide the disclaimer that one enlisting their service will be in violation of copyright if they don't own the ROMS and since they can't verify what you own, your use of their service is an implied agreement that you are not obtaining the ROMS illegally (or something to that effect).  Essentially this disclaimer protects the ROM distributor by providing a defense of "they claimed they had legal right to own the ROM and I told them that was required...it's not my fault they lied."  That people don't charge for more than materials is further insulation from damages beyond the statutory ones.  The lack of charge is also a courtesy to the community.  Just because nobody has been sued for copyright infringement doesn't make it legal.

Moreover, selling many of the emulators is in violation of those lisencing agreements and would subject a  person to civil suit there as well (copyright out of the question here as it is freeware and nothing procludes anyone from copying the files many times).

In short, the dude at the convention is doing something illegal and runs the risk of endangering the online ROM providers as the visibility is greater.  Although ROM providers have a reasonable defense (whereas this guy has none), I would hate to face civil charges and use it...the odds are not great in their favor.  Hell the company running the convention can also get sued for this guys actions.

I might add, the illegality of ROMS is why it is a taboo subject to ask where to get them on this board.

shardian:
That is pretty ---smurfy--- methinks.
I think I would have mentioned the illegality to the convention manager so he could shut the guy down. I love playing emulators, but I also believe that all of it should stay in the FREE domain and people spread it by person to person directly and P2P digitally.

I HATE it when people blatantly try to profit off of this stuff in this manner.

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