How has ROM Buddy not been pulled off the market yet?

[chimpy]

Downloading emulators is legal, but ROMs aren't.

How is this app still up on the marketplace? It's no different than a Limewire or torrent app.

 

[Paul_C]

It's no different than a Limewire or torrent app.

which are no different than a web browser.

 

[MisterMixelpix]

They're legal if you own the game.

 

[Agronis]

Downloading emulators is legal, but ROMs aren't.

How is this app still up on the marketplace? It's no different than a Limewire or torrent app.

Limewire, torrent apps, etc. aren't illegal because they don't distribute anything.

They merely are the "middle man" between you & the source.

Lets say I go to a "torrent" site, the file I download there is just a torrent file.. a map if you would. My program reads said map and knows where to find what I'm looking for.

That program is no different then an Emulator (In this sense whoever feels like getting technical). It itself just completes an operation that its told to do.. The act of acquiring ROMs is dependent on you, not the application.

Person above me said it right.. your web browser is a great example. The content acquired by it, its done so through you. It's just a gateway..

 

[wayrad]

Still, judging from all the pirated ebooks (which does constitute distribution), the Market doesn't seem too picky...

 

[photographx]

Limewire, torrent apps, etc. aren't illegal because they don't distribute anything.

WRONG.

Limewire is being shut down because it was found to be illegal by a court of law a few weeks ago.

 

[milrtime83]

WRONG.

Limewire is being shut down because it was found to be illegal by a court of law a few weeks ago.

Mostly because the courts don't understand how it works and the entertainment industry lawyers and lobbyists are pushing them to outlaw anything they possibly can that is somewhat related to piracy.

 

[prayinggray]

Mostly because the courts don't understand how it works and the entertainment industry lawyers and lobbyists are pushing them to outlaw anything they possibly can that is somewhat related to piracy.

good point!

the whole thing is a stupid argument anyways. if someone spends a lot of time baking some delicious cookies that everyone enjoys and then puts them on a plate out in a common area, I don't care who you are you would take one...if not two.

 

[CarsnGadgets]

afaik: emulators arent illegal, neither are roms, but it is illegal to supply both from the same place, which is why snesoid or gameboid etc dont have built in rom finding or roms. Also, it is illegal to supply the bios file for the emulators along with the emulator, which is why it isnt supplied and you have to get it from elsewhere. technically you should only use emulators to run roms for games that you already own the software for.

rombudy doesnt do anything wrong.

 

[A.Nonymous]

Mostly because the courts don't understand how it works and the entertainment industry lawyers and lobbyists are pushing them to outlaw anything they possibly can that is somewhat related to piracy.

It is illegal though. It's basically a black market for stolen goods. The feds have every right to shut it down.

 

[mcatdtDROID]

i download my music from youtube
I pirate my movies
and I play bootleg videogames.


the "illegal-ness" is not my concern, but rather, the supplier. And when Limewire is shutdown, then someone else will step up and fill the supply vacuum that they create. Just like Limewire did when Napster got cracked.

so instead of bitching and whining about "how's it on the market still" like a 1st grade tattle-tail, how about you either a. take advantage while you can, or b. STFU and just mind your own business.

 

[A.Nonymous]

i download my music from youtube
I pirate my movies
and I play bootleg videogames.


the "illegal-ness" is not my concern, but rather, the supplier. And when Limewire is shutdown, then someone else will step up and fill the supply vacuum that they create. Just like Limewire did when Napster got cracked.

so instead of bitching and whining about "how's it on the market still" like a 1st grade tattle-tail, how about you either a. take advantage while you can, or b. STFU and just mind your own business.

Would you not care if it was your work I was stealing and it was costing you money?

 

[mcatdtDROID]

do you also consider it "stealing" from your local newspaper when you read your local news online FOR FREE? Heaven forfend that you have a double standard in your morals about stealing from Nintendo or Metallica, but when it's the City Gazette, it's ok.....

Newsprint needs to change their buisiness model or get left behind... I'm not going to pay for a newspaper simply because I feel bad for them.... it's their job to adjust to changing trends in technology.

Same can be applied to emulator technology and music artists

 

[lunatic59]

do you also consider it "stealing" from your local newspaper when you read your local news online FOR FREE? Heaven forfend that you have a double standard in your morals about stealing from Nintendo or Metallica, but when it's the City Gazette, it's ok.....

Good logic. It's like saying that because there are free real estate flyers in the lobby of Borders, all the books should be free too, or at least, they shouldn't be surprised when I take a book without paying for it.

Newsprint needs to change their buisiness model or get left behind... I'm not going to pay for a newspaper simply because I feel bad for them.... it's their job to adjust to changing trends in technology.

Same can be applied to emulator technology and music artists

Justification is a beautiful thing ... until it happens to sneak up and bite you in the ... HEY! LOOK BEHIND YOU!

 

[stevenw00]

do you also consider it "stealing" from your local newspaper when you read your local news online FOR FREE? Heaven forfend that you have a double standard in your morals about stealing from Nintendo or Metallica, but when it's the City Gazette, it's ok.....

Newsprint needs to change their buisiness model or get left behind... I'm not going to pay for a newspaper simply because I feel bad for them.... it's their job to adjust to changing trends in technology.

Same can be applied to emulator technology and music artists

Comparing this to a newspaper is a terrible example. The newspaper either puts the news online for you to read (they are providing it for free) or you are getting the news from a completely different source (that reported the news themselves or paid for the rights to use someone's report). A good comparison would be if someone else was scanning the paper and posting it online for you to read. THAT would be illegal.

 

[A.Nonymous]

Comparing this to a newspaper is a terrible example. The newspaper either puts the news online for you to read (they are providing it for free) or you are getting the news from a completely different source (that reported the news themselves or paid for the rights to use someone's report). A good comparison would be if someone else was scanning the paper and posting it online for you to read. THAT would be illegal.

Stole my response. If you go to the NY Times website, you see the content that they (the Times) decide to put there for free. I'm not stealing content from the Times. I'm reading content that they have decided to provide and it's not really free as there are ads on the site. If I go to a site that publishes the Times articles without their permission and without compensating them in any way, that site is stealing content and is illegal.

 

[mcatdtDROID]

how about this analogy then.... (although I'm sure none are ever gonna be good enough to change your mind about your double standards)

There are comic apps in the app store that provide Calvin and Hobbs and others. I know for a fact that you can buy Calvin and Hobbs books in stores yet the app is free from the market.... So I now have a choice for C and H.... I can download a free app or I can spend $20 for a book....

Surely you must believe that reading comics w/an app is no different than downloading music, or playing a ROM. SImply because the demand for free comics not being equal to the demand for free music or ROMS shouldn't make a difference, right

 

[mcatdtDROID]

and surely noone ever has gotten their video game cheat codes from online have they, because in the 80's, you used to have to subscribe to Nintendo magazine to figure out cheat codes

 

[mcatdtDROID]

pretty funny how what some are so animate about as "stealing" in one case, is conveniently overlooked in another case. At least I'm consistent in my beliefs. If it's stealing in one case, it's stealing in all similar cases, and vice-versa

 

[DenverRalphy]

There are comic apps in the app store that provide Calvin and Hobbs and others. I know for a fact that you can buy Calvin and Hobbs books in stores yet the app is free from the market.... So I now have a choice for C and H.... I can download a free app or I can spend $20 for a book....

Surely you must believe that reading comics w/an app is no different than downloading music, or playing a ROM. SImply because the demand for free comics not being equal to the demand for free music or ROMS shouldn't make a difference, right

Actually, those comics apps are licensed and revenue generated via the ads in the apps. So try again...

 

[DenverRalphy]

pretty funny how what some are so animate about as "stealing" in one case, is conveniently overlooked in another case. At least I'm consistent in my beliefs. If it's stealing in one case, it's stealing in all similar cases, and vice-versa

You're consistent in your rationalization that you feel entitled to pirate whatever you wish. Your examples have no foundation, or skewed logic behind them.

 

[A.Nonymous]

how about this analogy then.... (although I'm sure none are ever gonna be good enough to change your mind about your double standards)

There are comic apps in the app store that provide Calvin and Hobbs and others. I know for a fact that you can buy Calvin and Hobbs books in stores yet the app is free from the market.... So I now have a choice for C and H.... I can download a free app or I can spend $20 for a book....

Surely you must believe that reading comics w/an app is no different than downloading music, or playing a ROM. SImply because the demand for free comics not being equal to the demand for free music or ROMS shouldn't make a difference, right

Do you not realize that you're arguing that stealing is right? Your entire argument is flawed right there as the vast majority of people are going to disagree with your basic premise.

The comic apps you present here are published by the comic publishers. Again, they own/license the content. They're making money off their work as they have every right to do. I'm curious why you think it's wrong for someone to make money off their work.

 

[shawn1224]

It is kind of weird that Rom Buddy hasn't been shut down when you think about it. Didn't the Feds seize a bunch of domain names for sites that linked to streaming movies, like Ninja Video and Movies-Links.tv. Technically they weren't hosting the movies but we're still considered as a gateway to accessing them.

 

[lunatic59]

pretty funny how what some are so animate about as "stealing" in one case, is conveniently overlooked in another case. At least I'm consistent in my beliefs. If it's stealing in one case, it's stealing in all similar cases, and vice-versa

If a friend invites me in for a beer, i get a beer. If I walk into a stranger's house and take a beer from their fridge, i get a beer. If I take a beer from the market and stuff it in my jacket, I get a beer. If I go into a bar, point a gun at the bartender until he gives me a beer (if he's smart) I get a beer. So, because one of those situations is okay, then the other's must be too.

I would advise you sell your phone and whatever other technology you have been pirating others work and invest in some courses on law and ethics at your local community college.

 

[milrtime83]

It is illegal though. It's basically a black market for stolen goods. The feds have every right to shut it down.

No, Limewire or any other p2p program by themselves are generally not illegal. What is illegal is the activity of some users that share copyrighted content. Techdirt has an article showing other technologies that promoted "piracy" or other activities that some people considered illegal. Where would we be if all of them had been shut down in their infancy?