Is homebrew legal?

Hello, I just downloaded The Homebrew Channel and was wondering if homebrew was legal, because I don't want anyone to sue me.

Plz and thanku :)

Yes it is legal

Yes, the homebrew channel and twilight hack are copyright of team twiizers so they are legal for you to use.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2009 04:22AM by Arikado.

Ok, thank you!

EDIT: Are emulators legal?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2009 06:49PM by WiiWii_Master.

Yes emulators are too, but you should only download roms if you own the original games...

So the ROMs are illegal then...

If you don't own the original game, yes

Well then wat's the point of downloading the ROM? :-O

you can't make your own rom from, let's say, GBA, N64, or NES/SNES cartridges, but there are already tons of roms for these games on the internet (you need special hardware to make a rom i think)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2009 08:13PM by bg4545.

Ya, but if I already own the game, y would I DL the ROM?

To play it on the Wii,
or with the GBA emulator, you can play your game on the TV screen

WiiWii, it's a bit like CDs and MP3s. The format you enjoy playing the game in isn't necessarily the format you bought the game in, and you have the legal right to transfer the data you own to another format if you like. Since with cartridge games it's a little more tricky to make a full software dump of its contents than a CD, but the capability to do so exists, it is generally considered acceptable to take a downloaded copy of a rom of a game you own rather than actually probing the cartridge pin-by-pin.

In any case, I do think homebrew might be an invalidation on any warranty you might have, since you're technically willingly exploiting vulnerabilities that exist on your hardware, but not actually illegal, no. In my case, my warranty ran out in December anyway!

Can anyone take me through the homebrew browser installation steps. I was wondering if this was legal to do and the post above does say it is so I want to install the browser.

I bought the Zelda : twighlight princess game . does it have the browser in it?

Yes, the homebrew browser is legal to install.

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Myu0
The format you enjoy playing the game in isn't necessarily the format you bought the game in, and you have the legal right to transfer the data you own to another format if you like.

You are allowed to make one backup. It may still be illegal in some countries if you need to circumvent copy protections to create the backup. I'm not sure if you are allowed to transfer the data you own to another format. Where did you get this from, Myu0?

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WiiWii_Master
So the ROMs are illegal then....

if you download them, true

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Myu0
If you don't own the original game, yes

it doesn't matter if you own the original game. it's illegal to download roms.

You are allowed to make one copy. You are not allowed to download a copy of the rom that someone else created, even if you own the original game.

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Can I Download a Nintendo ROM from the Internet if I Already Own the Authentic Game?

There is a good deal of misinformation on the Internet regarding the backup/archival copy exception. It is not a "second copy" rule and is often mistakenly cited for the proposition that if you have one lawful copy of a copyrighted work, you are entitled to have a second copy of the copyrighted work even if that second copy is an infringing copy. The backup/archival copy exception is a very narrow limitation relating to a copy being made by the rightful owner of an authentic game to ensure he or she has one in the event of damage or destruction of the authentic. Therefore, whether you have an authentic game or not, or whether you have possession of a Nintendo ROM for a limited amount of time, i.e. 24 hours, it is illegal to download and play a Nintendo ROM from the Internet.

source: [www.nintendo.com]

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Arikado
Yes, the homebrew channel and twilight hack are copyright of team twiizers so they are legal for you to use.

Ok, the hbc doesn't use any copyright protected materials. But this doesn't necessarily makes it legal to use it. Not breaking copyright laws is just one issue. (btw what about the twilight hack save game? does it contain any data of an original save game?) The hbc enables you to run code that is not supposed to run on your console. This may be considered illegal in some countries. Well it's actually not the fact that you run your own code but rather the steps you take to run the code.

Just to clarify: I'm a supporter of homebrew and the homebrew scene. I just wanted to point out that some things are commonly mistaken. Although some actions may be legal in one country, they may be considered being illegal in another country, too. So often there is no answer like "it's 100% legal".

I know that the majority of the homebrew scene (well let's say developers) does not support piracy. But seriously guys, being able to run homebrew is the first step to run illegal obtained software on the wii. Don't be naiv. The majoirty of the homebrew users primarily use it to launch illegal obtained backups. Just have a look at the download counts at sites that host homebrew applications, and you'll find backup launcher applications in the top spots.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2009 04:22PM by koopa.

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koopa
Where did you get this from, Myu0?

It would most likely be protected under Fair Use (since you've purchased the data that the game came on, and your manipulation of the format of the game for your personal use is just a way of interpreting the actual data you've paid for), and the same arguments as apply to music data have been recognized by the RIAA - the primary critical defense for intellectual property law in the US. Although, I must admit, I'm going mostly from quotes from Wikipedia on CD ripping - while I would assume the same arguments apply to cartridge software, the details are a little messier. ^^;

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koopa
it doesn't matter if you own the original game. it's illegal to download roms.

That quote wasn't me, by the way!

not to think I am smarted than Nintendo (haha), but their quote sounds awfully biased. I doubt they would EVER say it was ok to download a ROM. the legality issue is spreading around the copyright data. If I own a game. i have the legal right to access the data within it anyway I want to.BUT, it may not be legal for the person who I downloaded the ROM from to give it to me.

because if what you are saying is true. Then it would be "more legal" for Wiibrew to teach people how to rip their Wiigames and use the backup launcher instead of giving us console cartridge emulators since I doubt 1% of the people here even have ROM creating hardware.