ToToTEK.COM

[Videogamer555]

Obviously it is illegal to rip a game with a backup device, and then post the ROM on the internet. Also it is illegal to download and play a ROM for a game you don't own, and from what I've read it is possibly illegal to play a ROM for a game you do own (technically it isn't a ROM of your game, but rather a ROM of someone else's copy of the same game).

My questions are about the finer points of the law. Is it illegal to posses a game copier? Is it illegal to purchase it (the actual transaction where I send money and get a game copier in return)? If purchasing and owning it are legal then I have another question. Is it legal to use it? By that I mean is, does the very act of ripping a ROM from a game cartridge constitute a violation of the law? Or is it illegal only if I then proceed to distribute a ROM to others? From my understanding of copyright law, it is legal to keep a backup copy of a piece of software solely for personal use. However Nintendo states in the manual of all their games that it is some kind of "license agreement" violation to copy the game. But then the question is this. Does Nintendo have the legal right to even put in language in their agreement that does not have the backing of copyright law itself? If it actually does go beyond existing copyright law, does their license agreement have the same force of law behind it as the actual copyright law itself? Also, the modern addon to copyright law called DMCA bans decrypting of data. But I believe that game copiers don't decrypt anything. They actually make a 1-to-1 bit for bit accurate copy of the game, and alter nothing. As such they don't seem to violate DMCA. However that was only one part of the DMCA. Are there other parts of the DMCA that would be violated by use of a copier, even if it was used only for one's own personal use, and NOT used for piracy?

[MottZilla]

It depends on what country you live in. Pretty much anywhere though, if the system is no longer at market then the rights holder probably doesn't care. It costs alot of money to bring about legal action.

If your concerns are about anything older than GameBoy Advance, such as N64, SNES, Sega Genesis, Gameboy/Gameboy Color, don't worry about it. However piracy of GBA, DS, PSP, GameCube, PS2, Xbox, etc would probably be taken more seriously, mainly if you were proliferating it or profiting from it. Getting an illegal copy for yourself is not something they are going to worry about.

[Videogamer555]

[madman]

Does it really matter? If you make a backup of something you own, not only does law enforcement not care, they are not even going to know that you did so.

[MottZilla]