is emulating piracy?

[Dodece]

The answer to the question is a definitive no. While some emulation software can, and will be used for the purposes of piracy. There is legitimate emulation software. Where all parties involved agree upon the legality of the software in question. Any existing exception denies the validity of any contrary argument. For example it is perfectly legal to create a emulator for a existing massive online game, run a server for that game, and modify that game.

All that the server side user must do is follow some simple guidelines. They must not operate at a profit, and they must not advocate or support piracy. Those who run these servers didn't arbitrarily reach this conclusion either. This is what the companies have agreed to as being legal and fair use. Once that happens it becomes entirely just, because the companies have waved any right, and have in fact given a blessing.

So there you have it emulation software that is entirely legal. That isn't even exceptional. Others have pointed out public domain in this thread, but focused solely on grey interpretations. Which is simply not always the case. They have been lulled into thinking about public domain as being only a case of lapsed ownership or abandonment. It is often the case that the creator has opened the software up to public domain. Many studios before closing up will simply open their libraries up to public domain.