Is emulation legal if you don't own the game?

Emulators themselves are not illegal as long as they are not violating copyrights that are still protected. ROMs are the problem, unless you physically own the original, you are not suppose to own a copy (also if you were to ever lose/get rid of the original, you are suppose to delete the copy).
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Is emulating games you dont own illegal?

Emulation is not illegal, however, there's almost no legal way to get the games, even if you own them. While roms are not inherently illegal, if you have to bypass any form of DRM to obtain them, you're violating the DMCA's anti-circumvention measures.
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Are ROMs illegal if you don't own the game?

The Possible Exception for ROMs: Fair Use

To begin: downloading a copy of a game you don't own is not legal. It's no different from downloading a movie or TV show that you don't own.
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Do you have to buy games for emulators?

But while emulators are free and legal, ROMs are not. A person can go through the tedious process of copying game data off their disc or cartridge to their computer, but nine times out of 10, people who have ROMs probably just downloaded them off some corner of the internet.
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What makes emulation illegal?

While emulation software itself are legal, emulating games is only so when legitimately purchasing the game physically and ripping the contents. Freely downloading or uploading game ROMs across various internet sites is considered to be a form of piracy, and users may be sued for copyright infringement.
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Emulators and Roms are they LEGAL?

Can emulators get you banned?

Yes, you can possibly be banned as the usage of unauthorized emulators or software violate the Microsoft Code of Conduct.
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Can Nintendo sue for emulation?

Just over a week ago, Nintendo sued the developers of the leading Nintendo Switch emulator, Yuzu, for “facilitating piracy at a colossal scale.” Now, it appears that Yuzu will give up without a fight — and give Nintendo everything it wanted. And it affects the Nintendo 3DS emulator Citra, too.
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Is emulating the same as pirating?

Emulators make software piracy possible by circumventing anti-piracy countermeasures on video game systems.
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How do I legally get ROMs?

One way to acquire legal ROMs is backing up official copies of the games from owned physical medium using cart readers or modded consoles. As long as a physical copy is owned, it is considered to be legal to use a digital copy for personal use.
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Are handheld game emulators legal?

Emulators are the code that can interpret the game files (i.e. roms, bios, etc.) and run the game. Emulators typically do not include the BIOS or the firmware used to perform hardware initialization, runtime services and programs needed to emulate the given game. Therefore, emulators themselves are typically legal.
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Do ROMs count as piracy?

Pirate copies of game files are often referred to as “ROMs”. The uploading and downloading of pirate copies of Nintendo games is illegal.
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Are Super Nintendo ROMs legal?

It is illegal to download a Nintendo ROM from the internet whether or not you own an authentic copy of that game.
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Is it piracy if you own the game?

If you legally own a license to software you can't pirate it. Piracy inherently entails theft, which isn't occurring if you purchased the software. It doesn't just apply games either, but it's murky and really only works in favor of the person with the bigger bank account t.
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Is emulating retro games illegal?

In many jurisdictions, emulators themselves are not inherently illegal, but using them to play games you don't own can infringe upon copyright laws. If you own the original game cartridge or disc, you may be legally entitled to create a backup copy of the game for personal use.
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Are emulators fair use?

The Act of emulation is not a crime as noted in the case of Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. v. Bleem, LLC. h2o.law.harvard.edu/cases/5198 The only illegal part of emulation is distributing copyrighted software and the BIOS files from consoles, the emulators themselves are not illegal.
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How long can you go to jail for downloading ROMs?

At least in the USA, you can't get in trouble purely for downloading directly, because intent to pirate can't be proven, even if the fact you downloaded could be, which it usually can't. Sure a file may claim to be a ROM, but until you have downloaded it, you don't know for sure.
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What is the punishment for downloading ROMs?

If you own a game physically, you are likely to emulate or own a ROM of the game. However, there's no legal precedent in the United States to say it's illegal. There is no trial on record of any company going to court over emulators or ROMs and their use.
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Are Pokemon ROMs legal?

Emulators are legal to download and use, however, sharing copyrighted ROMs online is illegal. There is no legal precedent for ripping and downloading ROMs for games you own, though an argument could be made for fair use.
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Why is Nintendo against emulation?

Yuzu, like many other video game emulators, had initially claimed it required users to use code from purchased games in order to play them on their PCs or mobile devices. Nintendo accused the emulator makers of circumnavigating the Switch's copyright protections, regardless of where the code came from.
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Is Nintendo anti piracy?

Video game piracy is illegal. Nintendo cooperates with law enforcement officials and aggressively pursues legal actions worldwide against those involved in Nintendo piracy.
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Is pirating a serious crime?

Whether you're being accused of illegally downloading a song or movie or using an unlicensed copy of Photoshop, a piracy charge is nothing to make light of. In fact, piracy is a federal crime. These felony charges can land you in prison for a year or longer, depending upon the circumstances of your individual case.
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Has anyone been sued for emulation?

When Nintendo sued the developers of Yuzu out of existence on March 4th, it wasn't just an attack on the leading way to play Nintendo Switch games without a Switch. It was a warning to anyone building a video game emulator.
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Has Nintendo sued anyone for downloading ROMs?

Yes. Nintendo is infamous for protecting their brand and image. They have sued people for selling their old consoles, they've taken down numerous websites that hosted ROMs for old games, and they have no qualms whatsoever about suing the pants off a child (or rather, the legal guardian(s) of said child.)
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Why is Yuzu illegal?

Nintendo has shut down a community software development project that has helped facilitate piracy of Nintendo Switch games. Nintendo brought legal action against the developer of the Yuzu emulator, which can be used to play Nintendo Switch software on other systems.
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