Nightwalker of "Perspectives.com" - 05 Wrote:It's actually a fuzzy line between legality and illegality. Technically NO, the emulation program itself is NOT illegal.

However, some emulators require you to download and plug-in an extra ROM (for the operating system) in order to use them - the Amiga 500 emulators need the Kickstart 1.3 ROM, for instance, and the PSX emulators need scph1001.bin - and copying this specialist software IS illegal under international copyright laws.

Then we come to the game ROMs themselves... and these are almost ALWAYS illegal to own (unless the software has been marked as "Shareware" or "AbandonWare", as is the case with many ZX Spectrum titles).

Generally, though, I doubt anyone with an emulator takes any notice whatsoever of these copyright laws. You're supposed to delete them "after 24 hours", I believe - so not only does a prosecutor have to prove you downloaded the ROM, he/she also has to prove that you did not remove it from your system a day later - not at all easy to do!

Best wishes,