Copyright System in videogames.

[Calmy]

While i was browsing relaxed on the Internet, i came across this little bit of information from nintendo.com, which is this:

People Making Nintendo Emulators and Nintendo ROMs are Helping Publishers by Making Old Games Available that are No Longer Being Sold by the Copyright Owner. This Does Not Hurt Anyone and Allows Gamers to Play Old Favorites. What's the Problem?

The problem is that it's illegal. Copyrights and trademarks of games are corporate assets. If these vintage titles are available far and wide, it undermines the value of this intellectual property and adversely affects the right owner. In addition, the assumption that the games involved are vintage or nostalgia games is incorrect. Nintendo is famous for bringing back to life its popular characters for its newer systems, for example, Mario and Donkey Kong have enjoyed their adventures on all Nintendo platforms, going from coin-op machines to our latest hardware platforms. As a copyright owner, and creator of such famous characters, only Nintendo has the right to benefit from such valuable assets.

Isn't it Okay to Download Nintendo ROMs for Games that are No Longer Distributed in the Stores or Commercially Exploited? Aren't They Considered "Public Domain"?

No, the current availability of a game in stores is irrelevant as to its copyright status. Copyrights do not enter the public domain just because they are no longer commercially exploited or widely available. Therefore, the copyrights of games are valid even if the games are not found on store shelves, and using, copying and/or distributing those games is a copyright infringement.

Haven't the Copyrights for Old Games Expired?

U.S. copyright laws state that copyrights owned by corporations are valid for 75 years from the date of first publication. Because video games have been around for less than three decades, the copyrights of all video games will not expire for many decades to come.

Now, this is pretty interesting, considering that videogames like Pong, and that's like the earliest example of the common videogames was released in November 29 of 1972, this means that if i download (In U.S, and some other countries that agreed with the copyright system with the US one) Pong on my computer, means that i'm illegally downloading a game that i shouldn't play, not only that, if the game isn't available on stores, digital, whatever, etc. It doesn't matter, when you download a SNES, NES, Sega Genesis rom or whatever you're doing something illegal, according to the copyright rules.

So, if you want to play a game like Aero the Acrobat 2 (Which was released in Novemeber of 1994 for the SNES, and in April of 1994 for the Sega Genesis) means that you have to wait until November of 2069 or after to download a rom of this game and play it, and i'm sure by that time, no matter how young you are right now (Let's say 10 or 12) you would have between 60 to 62 years old, and i doubt someone will remember about this thing at that age.

Call me crazy, but i think copyright rules should be updated, like, if a game is no longer in production since quite some time, or games that nobody gave a shit back then and nobody (or almost) does right now (That's what it's called Abandonware) are almost impossible to find in physical format, why would i have to be forced to wait like an idiot when there's a bazzillion of emulators that any computer with the most basic settings can run those consoles, quite easily if i might add.

Now, i'm not against Copyright, i think it works well to protect the material someone is working on, but when that material is no longer available for "x" or y" you should be able to download it freely, if a game was made way back then, the only way to replay it right now is with an emulator, not only that, you can even make the experience better by using filters, altering the game, things that weren't possible the days the console was popular.

I have the philosophy that anyone able to buy a console, even modern ones, has the rights to alter it in order to do things that weren't supposed to do, like play emulators, load backups, etc. Since you're the owner of said product, and you can do whatever you want with it, and i'm tired of people saying "But you aren't supporting the developers" and shit, look, those developers are risking in working on a console that can be modified, therefore, they are taking the risk themselves to publish and develop those games, and as such, are potential victims to piracy, in any kind of way.

Piracy shouldn't be the reason developers would stop in investing for games, it should be how they are promoting their product, and aswell how they are gonna work with it for future costumers, if said developers were blaming piracy only to cause confusion people about "Maybe i should buy this game or not" means that they are more incompetent than EA in promoting, and guarantying a product of quality, because a game (modern) that is so widely pirated between people, only means that "x" game might be a piece of shit, and people only download it illegally to make fun of it, rather than to buy it.

Now, this is quite the "taboo" thread, there's always the faction who is gonna claim "My god, buy the games you piece of shit, support the developers jakcdsifjowe" the other one who is "I'm gonna download it first, and then buy it if i like it" and the last one who acts "Do what you want cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate!".

So obviously, people opinions about the subject is obviously something to take account, since i don't live in US, let alone a country who respects Copyright rules, i can totally download and download as much as i could possibly can, so that's my position right now in this moment, but what i do find funny is how many people are downloading things.

There's quite a lot of people who is downloading roms, without giving a shit about the copyright rules in the example above, making hacks of them, bootlegs, emulating them, altering them, etc. it's quite fascinating, and the rom downloading thingy is basically a community, it might as well be a society considering how fast is growing right now, so, the good question is, why so many people are taking the risks to download many roms from the old ages given that their copyright rules are still on foot?, that's something worth to be researched.

[Zera]

The U.S. government needs to drastically reduce the length of time for copyrights to expire. Any longer than 50 years is just plain ridiculous.

[Hardin]

The U.S. government needs to drastically reduce the length of time for copyrights to expire. Any longer than 50 years is just plain ridiculous.

Heh, after Disney's lobbying in the 90's I wouldn't be surprised to see copyrights getting extended another 20 years.

[Roflolxp54]

Perhaps Nintendo wouldn't have such a big piracy problem by making old titles more easily available and/or localizing region-exclusive Nintendo IP like old Fire Emblem games. Heck, for some odd reason, while Pokemon's willing to go onto mobile gaming via Pokemon Shuffle, it's not willing to put classics like Red, Blue and Yellow (or a combination of the 2 or 3) onto Virtual Console.

[Masked And Dangerous]

Until there is a universal repository for video games, we're gonna see this. For a lot of the examples, piracy is pretty much the only thing keeping them ticking.

Although I seldom to never play roms, my rules (and I think the general rules) for such work are pretty simple: If you can get a hold of the game from a legitimate source like the eShop or PSN, don't emulate. If you can acquire a copy of the game without breaking your budget, especially if you do not have a working system, do that and then emulate. And if neither a (good) port or the source material exists anymore, feel free to emulate away.

The issue with piracy is more about the developer not getting their deserved cut then anything else. Just make sure that the poor codemonkeys get payed, and your conscience is clear.