Even if it was legal it wouldn't be worth it, rom sites are media heavy and costs a lot in bandwidth. I'd imagine some of the popular sites pulls several terabytes of bandwidth a month. So you'd need a dedicated server to even be able to compete with them, and even then it'd probably be too much work for little profit.
Yes, you need permission from anyone to put up stuff like that. It would probably need to be written also!
Abandonware is legal, but the likelyhood of finding a game company that made a great game (and later went out of business) without selling rights to the game would be a slim chance. Also, the trademark would have to be abandoned.
It's generally a game that's been emulated or ported onto the PC so that emulators can play them. Like someone playing Super Mario World on their computer using their keyboard as opposed to on their SNES.
Most roms are 100% illegal. There is not much to say than that. Sites that say that there are conditions that make them legal are trying to make themselves look better. The only difference between roms and wares is that most roms are old abandoned games that most people dont care about.
Using roms is totally legal as long as you have a copy of the original game right now or used to have it before in a catridge. But do you think google will approve that site incase you are planning to put some ads there.
BULLSH*T Roms = not legal They are only legal if the copyright is/has expired or the publisher/copyright holder has given it's approval for rom form. You can have what ever disclaimer you want, you can have as many copies of the original as you want. They are not legal. In fact let's quote the origional excerpt from Nintendo again.... I added some additional emphasis, but let's break this down into plain stupidanese. Download a rom = ILLEGAL Play a downloaded rom = ILLEGAL You have the origional game and downloaded a copy = ILLEGAL You have an origional game and a buddy sent you a copy = ILLEGAL You have a rom for a limited amount of time (Any amount of time) = ILLEGAL
Your joking right? I don't have time to search for the links but I'm 100% positive that EVERY console / publisher / what ever has those rules. Maybe not as nicely laid out as Nintendo has but still once you get down to the facts it's still ILLEGAL!
What? You're always allowed to take a copy of your purchased data, with emphasis on take, not download. I think they think of making a backup and downloading a backup as two different cases, which is also why nintendo neglates to mention anything about making a backup. Let's remember we're dealing with a biased source here, nintendo wouldn't say making a backup was legal if it was, they'd carefully word their statement to use words like "downloaded roms". Which is exactly what they've done here!
While you *may* be allowed to make your own backup in your own environment, you can NOT download a copy of the item off the Internet nor upload a copy of the item. Doing so violates copyright and you can go read court cases to find that out. Downloading something, like music or a rom, that you already own is not covered under fair use. Therefore, it's a violation of the owner's copyright. Read that again. Now, read it one more time.
What do you think the "second copy" rule is? Get a clue and actually READ what's been posted. They aren't arguing the "second copy" rule. They are stating the fact that you can't download a copy. Here read this quote from Nintendo. Also biased source? Get a freaking clue! It's called a copyright holder. Now get off you duff and stop reading the crap that every stupid webmaster puts on a rom website to 'protect' themselves and read some legalease to get those stupid ideas out of your head.
On second thought Nintendo has laid out their document quite nicely. Let's take a look and I'll break it down in stupidease for every one who can't understand legalease. Basic stuff. Explains what trademarks, copyrights and patents are, and that Nintendo owns those rights on their stuff. Explains what a counterfeit game is, and that it's illegal to sell distribute or reproduce those games. There are other people who own rights on many games, we'd like to recognize that. Explains what a rom is. What an emulator is. Owning a "second copy" does not pertain to any illegal copies or download copies. The "second copy" rule allows you to have the one copy that you make. Only on the grounds that it's a 'backup' of the game you purchased. Video game emulators are bad. Very very bad. They cost every one money. Lots and lots of money. Oh, and jobs yep lots of jobs too. Emulators good for Nintendo? No they are still bad! Emulators cost Nintendo money you must be nuts, we're in this to make money not loose it! Sadly we bring back older games and this takes away from the nostalgia and value ($$$). Oh it's still illegal. Games are copyrighted whether they are sold or not, Nintendo owns most if not all those rights. Oh well abandonware is legal, but all the games have only been around not even half the time that the copyright protects them so good luck finding any. The devices are illegal because they allow people to create roms to share whether on or off the internet. We also don't like them, they cost us money. Do you own a website that just contains links to where to download the roms? If you do guess what it is. Legal, oh no your not that lucky. Yep your right by default it's ILLEGAL. FULL link http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#download_rom Any more statements like, "it's legal if you own an original copy", "it's my second copy", "this is only Nintendo not Microsoft or Sony", and "I only had it for 12 hours". Will open yourself to public insulting that will include some of the following insults: "your stupid", "your a retard", "If you believe hard enough you can fly, now go jump off a building and try it", "I hate you please die", and lastly a vast array of "your momma ---". Use your head people. This isn't rocket science.