Emulation: Right or Wrong? aka "The EmuFAQ" FINAL EDITION copyright (c) 1999 Sam Pettus (aka "the Scribe"), all rights reserved Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this document subject to the following terms: All copies must not be altered in any way, including but not limited to reformatting and conversion to alternate document formats, without the express consent of the author. The sole exception is for necessary formatting changes that may be required to adapt this document to suit your particular needs; however, the complete original text must be retained in as close a layout to the original as possible. For any questions in this regard, please contact the author. No copy may be reproduced in whole or in part within a for-profit commercial publication or Internet site without the express consent of the author. The author recognizes the right of said vendors to reproduce limited portions of his work under the "fair use" clause of the appropriate sections of the U.S. Copyright Act and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. Any trademark or other such indica to be found within this document is the exclusive property of its respective owner, and is reproduced here merely for the sake of reference. Emulation: Right or Wrong? by Sam Pettus 1 Foreward We build our computers like we build our cities - over time, without a plan, on top of ruins. - Ellen Ullman, "The dumbing-down of programming," Salon, 8 May 1998 This document was originally conceived in late April of 1999 in an effort to find for myself the answer as to whether or not emulation was legal; hence, the title Emulation: Right or Wrong? Let me state for the record that I am not an attorney, nor am I an emulation expert. I'm a former computer consultant (onetime youthful hacker) turned writer and researcher who has used his God- given talents in an effort to put this issue at rest once and for all. I ask forgiveness from those who may know more on these topics than do I, as I have done my best to keep things simple and straightforward. I also beg the indulgence of those outside the United States who may be reading this for their own edification, as it relies primarily upon that country's legal system for its examples. Emulation: Right or Wrong? by Sam Pettus 2 About the Author Sam Pettus, better known to the emulation community as "the Scribe" for all of the writing and research that he has done on emulation, is a middle-aged bachelor with a wide and wild history despite his youth. Reading his job resume is almost like reading an instruction book on computing, becasue he has been involved in almost every major area of personal computer usage from one kind to another. Whether it be hacking copy-protection schemes on his old Commodore 64 as a teenager or enjoying the life of a freelance personal computer consultant as an adult, he has done just about everything from Apple IIs to the Newtek Video Toaster. It was in 1983 that he got his literal "baptism in fire" with computers, when his Baptist minister father bought him a Commodore C64 and Datasette on the condition that he write a program to help the neighborhood church manage its membership records. Since then he has worked with computers in one form or another at every job he has held since his youth, from simple clerical work to vice-president of a computer training company. Sam's love of computers almost put him in jail, though, when he and the hacker group that he led narrowly escaped arrest as part of the Operation Sun Devil sweep against all forms of unauthorized computer hacking during the spring and summer of 1990. From that moment on he made a point of doing his best to stay on the straight and narrow and avoid any further involvement in the burgeoning bootleg videogam software market. He spent the next seven years involved primarily in the applications and training side of the computer industry, including one full year of unemployment during the industry shakeout of 1991 - 1993, and refused to involve himself with videogames again until 1997. That was when a friend gave him a shareware copy of DOOM early in the year, and that excellent shooter reawakened his long-dormant interest in a sorely missed pasttime. He now uses his knowledge of software and systems past and present to help the emulation community, and his sorrow at its current troubles (remembering his own with Sun Devil) were what led him to write the EmuFAQ. Emulation: Right or Wrong? by Sam Pettus 3 Index Foreward ___ 1999: The EmuYear In Review (a recounting in brief of one of the most formative years in the recent history of emulation) Module One: The Emulator ___ Part 1 - The Basis for Emulation (the fundamental concept behind emulation; reasons for emulation; a brief recounting of the birth of emulation) ___ Part 2 - Developing an Emulator (the concept of intellectual property; a brief introduction to patents, copyrights, and trademarks; how the concept of intellectual property relates to emulator development) ___ Part 3 - Releasing an Emulator (vendor concerns vs. developer desires; the economics of emulation; guidelines to determine the legality of an emulator prior to its release) Module Two: The Software ___ Part 1 - Establishing the Software Base (the economics of "free software" and its implications; the problems posed by software piracy; what the law really says regarding possible intellectual property infringement of computer software; the concept of "fair use" and how it does not justify software piracy) ___ Part 2 - Altering the Software Base (a look at software bootlegging; common questions concerning "ROMs;" the practice of "ROM" hacking, and " BIOS dumps; implications of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act) ___ Part 3 - Supporting the Software Base Emulation: Right or Wrong? by Sam Pettus 4 (Internet-related issues; the emulation scene and the "ROM" sites; the issues involved in setting up and maintaining a 100% legal emulation site) Module Three: The Implications ___ Part 1 - In Defense of Programming Freedom (the favorable stance taken by the emufans towards emulation) ___ Part 2 - In Defense of Corporate Assets (the opposing stance taken by the vendor community against emulation) ___ Part 3 - Reflections (personal insights by the author into the past, present, and future of emulation) Y2K Addendum: The Effects ___ Sony v. Connectix: Analysis and Implications (an analysis of the court case that legalized unlicensed emulation for all time) ___ The Question of ROMs (guest author Chuck Cochems tackles the thorny issue of ROMs for personal use) ___ Aftermath (the author bids a fond farewell to the emuscene) Acknowledgements Case Law Summaries Emulation Timeline Emulation: Right or Wrong? by Sam Pettus 5 Here is a list of mirror sites that maintain copies of the EmuFAQ. Eidolon's Inn --> http://eidolon.psp.net Everything you wanted to know about Sega home videogame consoles can be found here, including the Genesis Game Guide - the Scribe's very first emulation- related FAQ and the definitive catalog to the Genesis/MegaDrive videogame ligrary. The Vintage Gaming Network - http://www.vintagegaming.com Formerly known as Dave's Video Game Classics, this is by far the most popular emusite on the World Wide Web. Although for the most part dedicated to MAME and other arcade game emulators, it does provide decent coverage of other forms of emulation, and is highly recommended as a good starting point for emunewbies. Zophar's Domain - http://www.zophar.net One of the oldest and best general-purpose Internet emulation sites still in operation, Zophar's is home to the extended Emulation Timeline, A History of Emulation. Emulation HQ (EmuHQ) - http://www.emuhq.com One of the very first NextGen emulation sites, this remains an excellent place to monitor continuing developments in emulation's newest phase of development. OverClocked (OC) - http://www.overclocked.org Home to the emulation comic strip "OverClocked", as well as game reviews, remixed videogame music, and random miscellaneous flotsam and jetsam Emulation: Right or Wrong? by Sam Pettus 6 1999: The Emuyear in Review This is a reprint of an article that originally appeared in the January 2000 issue of the Zophar's Domain newsletter And we're going to party like it's nineteen-- .... Hold up! It is! - Will Smith, "Will-enium" INTRODUCTION Back in the early 1970s, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson created what many people regard as their finest live-action television series. SPACE:1999 was set in that ominous-sounding year, and those of us who remember it also remember its premise. On 13 September 1999, a freak nuclear accident on the dark side of the moon blew the Earth's lone natural satellite out of orbit, causing mass chaos and disaster on the mother planet and condemning the 311 inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha to a solitary existence wandering the stars. While time has finally caught up with the series and its projected concept of mankind's future, the year itself managed to retain its portentous aura. 1999 would prove indeed to be a momentous year for many, but it would prove especially significant for the rapidly growing and often controversial Internet emuscene. It was a year that was a real roller-coaster ride for them, and it was shaken to its very core just like those thermonuclear explosions shook the moon in SPACE:1999. In just a little while we will begin sifting through the dim memories of the past twelve months, but one significant accomplishment stands out above all the rest of that year.