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Complete list of all the Roms that are Public Domain status?

Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2005 7:17 pm
by SNK Forever!
Does anyone have a complete list of all the Roms that are Public Domain status? (Not looking for a link to any Rom site, just need to know which Roms are in Public Domain Status)

Also if they are Public Domain status it means its alright to download those Roms and distribute them right? Or am I wrong here?

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 6:11 am
by Dweezledap
The list would be to long to post here.
It also depends on what system your looking for (SNES, NES, GBA, MAME, ect.)
Most are homebrew. Some are very good quality and fun to play.

All the old Vetrex game roms are public domain.
SNK Forever! wrote:Also if they are Public Domain status it means its alright to download those Roms and distribute them right?
Correct.

Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 11:39 pm
by Guest
Dweezledap wrote:The list would be to long to post here.
It also depends on what system your looking for (SNES, NES, GBA, MAME, ect.)
Most are homebrew. Some are very good quality and fun to play.

All the old Vetrex game roms are public domain.
SNK Forever! wrote:Also if they are Public Domain status it means its alright to download those Roms and distribute them right?
Correct.
So which ones are Public domain for MAME, and any other well known Arcade emulators?

Also do or will copyrighted ROMs eventually reach or become public domain status? It all depends on the original authors, creators and companies right?

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 4:41 am
by Dweezledap
There are very few Arcade games in the Public Domain.
Here is a list of the ones I am aware of:

Gridlee
Poly-Play
Robby Roto

Additional games listed at PDRoms:

Mine Sweeper
Neo No Panepon (Beta 7th July 2002 MAMEFIX)
Neo No Panepon (Beta 7th July 2002)
NeoPong v1.1
Vantris
Guest wrote:Also do or will copyrighted ROMs eventually reach or become public domain status?
Copyrights are valid in the US for 70 years. In other words if a games was released in 1980, it will fall into the Public Domain in 2050. Of course other countries have different or none existent copyright laws.
Guest wrote:It all depends on the original authors, creators and companies right?
Correct again :)

Although rare, companies sometimes do release their games into the public domain.

In some cases Companies go bankrupt, are sold, bought out, ect. This makes it hard to determine who the actual copyright holder may be.
Many people consider these and older games (roms) as "abandonware". Basically these games have copyright holders who are not actively protecting their copyright.
Although many feel these games are "fair game", they are still copyrighted and distributing them without permission is technically piracy.