Backround; Since i got my first x68000 system i ever wanted to play all those underground STG´s on real hardware but it is a bit difficult (for "normal computer people") to write them back on original disks. I am one of those people who can´t have fun with emulators, even when the setup is "near" the original it is still a emulator for me Now i was finally able to set up a Windows 98 PC with all programms & 5,25" disk drive, so i can write Images on disks and play them on real x68000 hardware. I buyed around 300 (new!) disks on ebay and now i want to offer them to other people. My idea is to sell those freeware shoot em ups @ ebay for a smal price covering my costs (ebay fees, time, shipping, disk price & hardware) i have to test every disk on my real x68000 so i think it will shorten the life span of my disk drives much! Currently i am thinking about 5€ per disk, is that fair or to high what do you think...? The formatting, copying & testing process needs around 15 minutes per disk ! This should be a non profit project but it will kill my x68000 drives sooner or later so i have to get new ones. There is one seller @ yahoo.jp and every disk from him is starting @ 1000yen, he sells many disks per month. What do you think? And what about copyright issues? Is it legal to sell freeware games in this "project" or is it illegal? Thanks for your opinions -Uroko PS i was thinking on games like Sho-Ren-Sha, Alian, Kamikaze, Hatenkou, Maderina, Spiral Bullet etc...
I'm not sure how many x68000 owners there are. It sounds very useful to an equally small crowd. Middle man fees buying from yahoo.jp international would make it rather hard to profit... Unless you're in Japan of course.
If it's freeware and you're only charging for your time and media but not the software then you should be fine copyright wise.
Hey, thank you so far for your answers ! @question; They use 15,24 & 31Khz most games run fine on 31Khz but personally i think 15Khz is the "real deal" so you have to use a multisync monitor. There are not much games supporting 24Khz modes out there.
Since the subject of copyright came up, I have to soap-box for a minute. Copying things without being the copyright holder or having the permission of the copyright holder is ALWAYS copyright infringement. What you do with the copy, or whether money is involved at all is irrelevant. Yes, even "fair use" is an infringement of copyright - just a legally accepted one. This doesn't mean it's unethical, harmful, wrong, evil, or even necessarily illegal. And it damn sure isn't stealing - the whole concept of copyright was invented precisely because the act could not truthfully be described as theft. It just means that you're violating a right that someone somewhere technically still holds, so always tread lightly. The chances are low that any copyright holder is going to even notice what you're suggesting, let alone take issue with it, so I doubt you'd have to worry about it. However, I believe that selling unauthorized copies is a violation of Ebay's policy so if you make it obvious what you're doing, your listings will probably get pulled. I have seen a lot of clever tricks people use for skirting these rules - like selling hardware or a genuine copy of a game, and then "throwing in" some "extra" software. I'm right there with you when it comes to wanting to play games on real hardware. I'm a big fan of authentic gaming experiences and if I had an x68000 I would be all over buying some of these off of you to fill in gaps in my collection. As it is this is how I play the majority of my FM Towns software.
The OP is specifically asking about copying freeware titles, which presumably were never copyrighted.
