Is downloading ROMs that you do not own illegal?

[Sonicslasher]

I know hosting them is illegal, but I could find no info about downloading them. Well?


EDIT: We have now established that it is illegal. So.......the threads purpose is complete.

 

[Veho]

YES

Plain and simple.

 

[Mieki]

I thought it depended on your country's laws.

 

[Destructobot]

Yes, and in the US its illegal to download copyrighted material even if you own a legitimate copy.

 

[Sonicslasher]

Yes, and in the US its illegal to download copyrighted material even if you own a legitimate copy.

link please.

 

[JPH]

Yes, and in the US its illegal to download copyrighted material even if you own a legitimate copy.



link please.

It's common sense.

You could go buy the game from, say, Gamestop like it's intended, or you could download it off the internet into your computer for no price.

Read the first couple pages of any Nintendo game manual and it will talk about back-ups.

 

[Sonicslasher]

Yes, and in the US its illegal to download copyrighted material even if you own a legitimate copy.



link please.

It's common sense.

You could go buy the game from, say, Gamestop like it's intended, or you could download it off the internet into your computer for no price.

Read the first couple pages of any Nintendo game manual and it will talk about back-ups.

All im finding is the it is illegal to distribute and give, but I see nothing about leeching.

 

[Hiratai]

Yes, and in the US its illegal to download copyrighted material even if you own a legitimate copy.



link please.



It's common sense.

You could go buy the game from, say, Gamestop like it's intended, or you could download it off the internet into your computer for no price.

Read the first couple pages of any Nintendo game manual and it will talk about back-ups.

All im finding is the it is illegal to distribute and give, but I see nothing about leeching.

How old are you?

 

[Westside]

Yes, and in the US its illegal to download copyrighted material even if you own a legitimate copy.



link please.

I thought this was common knowledge by now, but then again you could be young enough to be my son (I'm 18), so I'll tell you the biggest reason that we do not post ROM links on this site anymore. The reason is that they are illegal weather you already own them or not. Link? GIYF.

 

[Yoshimashin]

The only legal way to back up a game is to manually dump your own image of it.

 

[Sonicslasher]

Yes, and in the US its illegal to download copyrighted material even if you own a legitimate copy.



link please.



It's common sense.

You could go buy the game from, say, Gamestop like it's intended, or you could download it off the internet into your computer for no price.

Read the first couple pages of any Nintendo game manual and it will talk about back-ups.

All im finding is the it is illegal to distribute and give, but I see nothing about leeching.

How old are you?

14

 

[JPH]

All im finding is the it is illegal to distribute and give, but I see nothing about leeching.

OH! I got you! So, people shouldn't distribute them, but if they do - it's not illegal to download them!

That's exactly right!

Think about that last statement you made.

That's like saying: It's illegal to distribute drugs, but it's not illegal to buy them.

 

[Destructobot]

I don't have a good link right now, so here's what Nintendo says: http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#download_rom

When you download a rom, you are recieving a copy that was created by someone without the permission of the copyright holder. Owning a legitimate copy of the game does not change this.

 

[Sonicslasher]

All im finding is the it is illegal to distribute and give, but I see nothing about leeching.


OH! I got you! So, people shouldn't distribute them, but if they do - it's not illegal to download them!

That's exactly right!

Think about that last statement you made.

That's like saying: It's illegal to distribute drugs, but it's not illegal to buy them.

it's illegal to posses drugs, it is NOT illegal to posses ROMs

 

[mthrnite]

Take everybody's word for it. Search for proof if you must, but it's not necessary. It is illegal, there is no gray area here. Maybe it shouldn't be, if you own it, but it is. Jaywalking is illegal, reaching up the snack machine hole to grab a pack of nabs is illegal, grand theft auto is illegal, downloading roms is illegal, etc...

 

[mkoo]

I thought it depended on your country's laws.

Is there a single country that allows piracy?
On the other hand downloading roms of games you own.. I belive it's illegal in the US. But actually it could be disputable at other countries.

 

[DoS]

I don't know why all the bashing against sonicslasher. He is really making up a good point here, that while the people who dump games are making something illegal, the leechers are not.

It's certainly different story with drugs and you know it, because it's not allowed to consume some of them in most countries.

I'm not saying that it's not illegal, I don't know anything about laws, but if the law states that dumping backups is illegal, leeching them is simply legal if not stated otherwise.

He's a smart 14 year old, so stop saying he's dumb =S

 

[JPH]

All im finding is the it is illegal to distribute and give, but I see nothing about leeching.


OH! I got you! So, people shouldn't distribute them, but if they do - it's not illegal to download them!

That's exactly right!

Think about that last statement you made.

That's like saying: It's illegal to distribute drugs, but it's not illegal to buy them.

it's illegal to posses drugs, it is NOT illegal to posses ROMs

First of all, let me clarify "drugs" (crack, meth, weed...).

In some cases, it's not illegal to own drugs, as some can be used for a cure (I think it's marijuana or something; strange ain't it?).

In some cases, it's not illegal to posess ROMs (if you take your copy and dump it for yourself and NOT to spread it.)

You asked if it was illegal to download ROMs, which the answer is yes - it is illegal.

Point proven, case closed.



Edit -
@DoS, I'm not calling him dumb. Nobody was (Though I could have been a little nicer and less sarcastic, my apologies SonicSlasher) calling him dumb; I'm 14 too and that doesn't make me dumb. Ignorant may be the word?

 

[Destructobot]

Unfortunately, something does not have to be morally or ethically wrong to be against the law.

 

[Yoshimashin]

I believe India allows the use of piracy for video game systems, saying many game markets are not localized there. My friend from India says they sell systems (such as PS2) pre-modified.