Google should remove emulators

[kaneada]

Helloplite said:
Emulators are not illegal. The distribution of ROMs is. Why are we even discussing this? The topic creator should check the law before assuming that emulation, in its entirety, is illegal.

An emulator is essentially an interpreter which can read a (copyrighted) piece of software code and allow it to be used in non-native hardware such as a PC or a mobile phone with sufficient processing power.

The only situation in which emulators are illegal is if they include copyrighted code. This usually happens only with BIOS images, which in some situations are an integral part of emulation. Most emulator software allows you to 'add' your own BIOS, therefore bypassing this thorny issue -- by not giving you the BIOS, they are not distributing illegal code. But you could be an illegal user if the BIOS image has not been derived from your own console (using, for example, a NAND flash reader).

This isn't entirely accurate:

1. Distrubtion of ROMS are not always illegal. Several companies have release ROM images of once copyrighted content for free distribution.

2. Emulators interpret a processor to a non-native machine, which is how software on a non-native platform is able to be used. Once again this software is not always copyrighted, or the copyright has been modified by the current publisher / owner. Example, NES console emulators interpret the MOSS 6502, while PSX emulators interpret MIPS R3000 processors. This is A HUGE reason why emulators can't be considered illegal. It is custom code built to emulate a processor instruction set.

3. BIOS images on some console emulators are not required. There are a few PSX emulators that do not require the BIOS for boot. The people who create these emulators are often divided into two groups, those who build them to accurately emulate the original hardware and those who are only interested in playing non-native software on a specific platform.