I've been defending the legality of Emulation using this provision from the DMCA SO In theory, it's ok to for private non commercial use, hold an archive of old games so long as the means to play them is long obsolete. I'm also pretty sure from what I understand the Virtual Console games aren't using the same code that emulators are using, SO...am I missing something here The physical game so long as the means to play it is long obsolete is find to download emulate share ect, But the content/characers ect with in are still covered under copyright law? I remember hearing a simular ruling where music ripped from Vinyl was ok to copy and distribute. I don't know copyright law is confusing and complicated. Isn't that EXACTLY what these evil overlord copyright holders want?
Not even remotely close. The DMCA (in this instance) covers circumvention of copy protection mechanisms, not distribution or copyright claims. It makes it legal, for instance, to research and develop emulation software such as MAME (which I might add was/is intended for preservation and not free access to arcade games). It does not make it legal to own an electronic version of an "obsolete" game to which you do not own an original copy. A legal gray area still exists as to whether or not owning an original copy entitles you to also use an electronic copy of the exact same work, though it is generally accepted that it is permissable. Simply put: get your hearing checked. The only thing legal to distribute without permission are works covered by public domain. I'm sure that some of these works (pretty much anything before Mickey Mouse and nothing after) were on vinyl and qualify, but not how you are viewing it.
