is downloading emulater and game roms legal in the united states

is downloading emulater and game roms legal in the united states namely the NES EMULATER, SNES EMULATER AND THE SONY PLAYSTATION EMULATER.ALONG WITH THE ROMS

Downloading is legal just about anywhere. Hosting ROMs can get you in to a lot of trouble, its just like any counterfeiting. Emulators or not illegal in any way.

Here are the facts:
-Downloading and using an emulator is 100% legal.
-Downloading rom images/iso from others on the internet is ILLEGAL!
-Hosting/uploading rom images/iso is ILLEGAL!
-Uploading or downloading a BIOS file is ILLEGAL!
-Ripping the iso from your own games is 100% legal, as you are allowed to 1 backup. If you sell the game, you MUST delete the backup.

Where is the grey area? well owning the games, and downloading them from the net. As there would really be no way to prove you are using roms/iso that you ripped yourself. You could look at download records, but that would show you downloaded them, but who's to say you didnt delete them, and are using your own, etc.
I mean if someone were to give you trouble about download a game that you OWN and PAYED for, then they need to gtfo lol.

So thats why i would say, if you own the game, downloading a rom/iso is fine imo.

Its not really illegal to download them, but its illegal to posses an ISO if you didnt rightfully own it. The act of download is no crime. Who is to say you even knew what you were downloading? Watch for the little print on a web site or an agreement check box. This also depend on your country.

Here is some detail general info.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ulaoulao

Its not really illegal to download them, but its illegal to posses an ISO if you didnt rightfully own it. The act of download is no crime. Who is to say you even knew what you were downloading? Watch for the little print on a web site or an agreement check box. This also depend on your country.

Here is some detail general info.

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Yes it is lol, you would believe what a site of pirates says? yes and do you also believe you are allowed to keep the rom for 24hours if you dont own it too?

How could it be illegal to share/upload but not download? with out people downloading there would be no people uploading, its a two way street...

Yes as with all piracy, there is a low chance you will get caught/charged, And of all the piracy, trading roms is on the lower end. In reality piracy is piracy.

Its ONLY legal to make YOUR OWN backups. i dont believe in this, and believe that if you own the game, you can download the image, as for old cartridges and gamecube games, its really hard to dump the roms. ps1/ps2 can be done by just sticking the disc in your dvd drive and using imgburn. As if you have proof of ownership of the original games, i doubt you would get charged.


There are some games, like star ocean for snes, as it was in Japanese only. And you need to get a translated rom. So it pretty much guaranteed you dont own it.
I have gotten a few games i dont own as i just wanted to play them, but i own so many games, dont really see it being that bad in getting a few older roms (like star ocean for snes, which is an awesome game btw). But regardless its still piracy and against the law. But if you dont even own the system let alone games, you probably shouldnt be downloading them.


Really i guess when it comes down to it, its whether or not its against your morals then against the law, as its not really enforced much.

No its not illegal simply be cause you have no idea what you are download. I could name a file readme.txt and it could be a rom. How is that the downloaders fault? The only way it could be illegal is if you check a box agreeing to it. Its the same grey area as leaving a store with an unpaid item in your cart. Point is its beatable in court and no one is going to prosecute you over it. Its what we refer to as ethics.

Possession is illegal receiving is not. If you "receive" a stolen item, you can ethically report this to the police. Your not going to get sited for doing so? Because there is no crime in that. However if you keep it and get caught with it, its considered possession of stole property.

If you watch the warning on most rom sites, it says right there on the page. You may not download this file unless you have the original version. This pretty much covers there buts and give you the responsibility of knowing what you are downloading. Though, what if you got a download linked form another site without the warning? In that case its the middle mans issue.

In light of the question at hand, and as jbone1337 pointed out, yeah your ok downloading. No internet provider is going to tangle with you. I here that people with large amounts of stolen software can get stung, but you have a better shot winning the lottery.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ulaoulao

No its not illegal simply be cause you have no idea what you are download. I could name a file readme.txt and it could be a rom. How is that the downloaders fault? The only way it could be illegal is if you check a box agreeing to it. Its the same grey area as leaving a store with an unpaid item in your cart. Point is its beatable in court and no one is going to prosecute you over it. Its what we refer to as ethics.

Possession is illegal receiving is not. If you "receive" a stolen item, you can ethically report this to the police. Your not going to get sited for doing so? Because there is no crime in that. However if you keep it and get caught with it, its considered possession of stole property.

If you watch the warning on most rom sites, it says right there on the page. You may not download this file unless you have the original version. This pretty much covers there buts and give you the responsibility of knowing what you are downloading. Though, what if you got a download linked form another site without the warning? In that case its the middle mans issue.

In light of the question at hand, and as jbone1337 pointed out, yeah your ok downloading. No internet provider is going to tangle with you. I here that people with large amounts of stolen software can get stung, but you have a better shot winning the lottery.

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Wtf are you 12? im talking about the REAL world....

ignorance does NOT exempt you from the law...

if you dont know that you couldnt change lanes in the middle of an intersection and get pulled over saying "o i didnt know i couldnt do that" will not get you off...

If you go into a store and put something in your pocket and forget and walk out without paying, you can be arrested, just because you forgot or didnt know is NOT an excuse.... Yes if you maybe explain to the manager and agree to pay for it you may get off the hook, but if they want to they CAN and are in their legal rights to press charges against you.

If you download something, and you find out its something else (especially if its illegal) you would/should probably delete it immediately (as your computer does keep dates of when you downloaded and when it was deleted)? o i didnt know what i download but i used it for 6years derp, ya that will work....

And yes if you "receive" stolen goods, you CAN and probably WILL be arrested/charged. If someone walked up to you and said "you want this TV" and you said yes and accepted it and it was stolen, YOU will go to jail. If you buy something from Craigslist and it was stolen goods, YOU can go to jail. It doesnt matter if you knew or not.


This is how the REAL world is, and yes its not fair, but this is how it is...

You are just missing the point and confusing downloading with possession. There is no crime in downloading period. If there were, we would have more moderation and rules when signing up for net access. If you can't win the discussion without being offensive dont waste our time. What, you can't read rules? As a result this thread is locked.

The EZ board cant not be held responsible to any members interpretation of the law. If you need worry about what is right and wrong see a lawyers board.