Are we supposed to dump our own files from our legally owned games

[Ikagura]

so that emulation is 100% legal as long as you're using that copy solely for private use?

 

[daimian203]

yes. sorry I don't have a mile long paragraph about it. but yes as long as its for private use its safe to dump your own roms

 

[RageBurner]

Yeah, it's a sort of gray legal defense. Not that it really matters if companies choose to pursue action anyway, as we tecnically own nothing. What you buy when you buy a game is the limited right of usage, not true ownership, even for physical carts.

The only reason companies don't is because it's not legally viable because of cost.

 

[otogirisou]

sometime you need to bypass anti-piracy protection to properly dump them and that's (arguably) illegal. To achieve 100% legal emulation:
- Use a service like virtual console
- those mini consoles (out of the box, not modded with additional games)
- Use only public domain roms or official free game roms.

 

[DrunkOcelot]

 

[kanesha]

You are obviously not supposed to do even that, you are not allowed to make a copy of their IP and nintendo lawers would love to sadistically punish you for that by putting a neuralinked robot enforcer in your home that will zap you every time you even think about it, but they don't have the resources, so they are working hard on new legislations to pass in the parlament to make that happen.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Yes, you are legally allowed to back up your own files.

Some websites in the early aughts would have flashing warnings about the legality of it all, stating that you could only keep downloaded ROMs on your system for 24 hours before it became a proper crime, but that was BS.

 

[kanesha]

back up

Yeah, you are so clearly and undoubtedly allowed, that you have to call it a back-up to cover your ass

 

[Mr. SyS]

Emu authors say that to cover their own asses. The truth is that nobody ever does.

 

[Ikagura]

Emu authors say that to cover their own asses.

Yeah, as much as the emulator itself is technically legal, they say that the roms and isos you use on them have to be from your own game stash to sound legally compliant.

The truth is that nobody ever does.

True, barely anyone have the tool to do that.

Is this fair? Of course not, we should have an easier access to our game files without tinkering but in the same way most people don't do that and they get their game from online.