Some legal advice about MAME.

[Chaos.Tiki]

I wanted to ask the users here for some advice about the legality of using MAME for business purposes.

I recently got a job at an arcade rental warehouse. It is my job to repair and maintain the arcade machines there.

Now I have started to think about the cabinet I made for myself and was wondering, if I (or the company I work for) own the pcb game boards for classic arcade games (all stocked in the warehouse), can I make a MAME machine with these games all on it and use it to rent out to our clients like we do with the full arcade cabinet (IE: NFL Blitz 2000, Donkey Kong, and Ultracade)? I feel that this might be able to cut down on warehouse space and make some appealing products to rent out to our clients.

[Draco1962]

I am not an attorney, but (and this is a big but)I think you and/or your company would find itself on the other side of a lawsuit. If you have possession of a movie DVD or song CD, you can make a copy as backup for your own use.

If you provide it for somebody else's use for free or profit, then you are cheating that artist, actor, studio, etc. out of their share of the royalties from the rental of their property (intellectual, creative, or otherwise).

If you fell asleep during the long answer, here is the short answer: NO.

[hansolo77]

I'd have to agree with Draco. Like with the movie analogy, there is a little copyright blurb at the beginning of movies that say nothing can be reused in whole or in part, including the soundtrack. It also says its for personal use only and can't be retransmitted or used in public places. The thing about arcades though, I think you could only get away with it if the ROMs are available in Public Domain.

Its a good idea though. If you REALLY want to pursue, I'd get legal advice.

[Draco1962]

Therein lies the rub. What exists in the "public domain" is not always or necessarily legal unless certain preconditions are met. Unless you obtain it from the author or their representatives with a clear OK to transfer ownership, free use, whatever, better to tread on the side of caution and not.

Since this type of discussion has, in the past, gone into areas governed by our forum rules and guidelines and declared verboten, I am locking this thread as a precaution.