I had someone send me an e-mail asking me for legal advice
on altering pinball game code (game roms).

He wanted to know if I knew anything about the legalities of
making changes to copyright material (...notably Williams pins game code ).

He says he knows enough about Williams pins to make upgrades and modifications
to several Williams game roms  (...think home roms like TZ etc... ).

But given the legal threats from Loser Wayne (DownUnder) over the
the flickering LED patch for Williams games, this guy doesn't want to get in a legal battle.

So my question is :

If someone writes a PATCH for a game rom,
would this be a copyright infringement ?

I would think that as long as the original game code is not modified,
he can provide his patch without any issues.

It would then be up to the game owners to apply the patch themselves
to games they already own .

Thoughts ?

thanks,
Steph

Long and short of it.

If he does it he is going to get a C&D regardless of it is valid or not.

So the question will be how far does he want to fight it.

Brock tried and god bless him, but it gets to a point where it's not worth it.  

If he did it and kept it quiet and in the community similar to Bish's patches then he will have not as much to worry about, but if he tries to sell it or if Wayne ever get's wind of it he will get a C&D.

Wayne will C+D you for looking at him funny.  That being said, his C+D's are as good as the paper they're printed on (psst.. they're emailed).  I stopped bothering with it because I started hearing from the big guys, WMS themselves and with them, I actually made my point well enough to consider it a win.  With that, I had to move on.. I've got more important things to do right now than argue with a gutless prick from Australia.

I'd suggest this guy ask Williams directly about how they feel about it.  It's the best way to get the straightest answer.

Quoted from machine.slave

I'd suggest this guy ask Williams directly about how they feel about it.  It's the best way to get the straightest answer.

If someone modifies it and then takes no credit for the changes.... what will happen?

Quoted from Monkeybug

If someone modifies it and then takes no credit for the changes.... what will happen?

The universe will implode.

Quoted from Monkeybug

If someone modifies it and then takes no credit for the changes.... what will happen?

Then he'll just go after who ever is hosting the files, probably     Best way around it is to send the modified code or patches to torrents

Sounds like it might be a tricky question.  Since I don't think there's any EULA to go along with a pin, I don't know what the default would be.  If there's any sort of encryption on the ROMs, you could probably get nailed under the DMCA, but otherwise you're basically creating a derivative work of an existing product, and I don't see why this wouldn't be allowed.  I'd liken it to people doing car engine mods, which manufacturers might not like, but are reasonably powerless to stop.  Now that I think about it, why would it be any different from someone selling a hole protector or extra toys for a game?    For other software, there's probably an EULA that precludes reverse engineering. That being said, there are plenty of rom hacks out there for arcade/console games that fly under the radar, and I'm sure that the copyright holders know about at least some of them.  What is "legal" is also not the same as what is "easy", and you can get into a long protracted fight (as others have pointed out) even if you're completely within your rights.  

I'm an Engineer though, not an IP lawyer

Oliver has been hosting his rom patches for a few years here: http://www.pinball4you.ch/okaegi/pro_soft.html

He has a note at the top of this page about legalities.  Since his roms (in Pinmame version) are available on IPDB, I am sure that Wayne is very aware of them, but it would seem Oliver has not suffered any C&D orders.

I have exchanged several emails with him about his Firepower code.  He is very approachable and responsive via email, so I am sure you could contact him directly for information.

My suggestion is if someone wants to sell/host modified WMS ROM images, then first build a dog house.

Machine slave will understand that one..."I will take your house"!  

I had a conversation with Wayne when he was harassing about the sale of mods and there is no doubt he can be an aggressive jerk. However, everything is so easy with Torrent files. Try and go after the seeders, leechers, etc. Then blame the search engines for finding magnet links.

Kinda like selling a modified flash for a BMW performance chip. My guess is it would get around and around long before Wayne started getting out enough hostile emails.

WMS probably would turn a blind eye. And if it caused a coil lockup and burned up peoples machines nobody would be liable.

Its not exactly kiddie porn so I am sure there wont be a task force on it.

Quoted from Chris Bardon

If there's any sort of encryption on the ROMs, you could probably get nailed under the DMCA,

Only relevant if you are an American (and America loves to think their laws apply to the rest of the world at times).

If they can't catch people leaking movies and pirated software (and other such things)....how are they going to find someone who released some "modified" code for personal use?  Maybe once the US finds Osama, all those people working on that case will switch to copyright infringement on 15 year old technology, instigated by an Australian?

While this post may sound a bit negative, I really don't see what the big deal is?  Collectors will obtain these things for their personal use eventually.  Just think of the STTNG joke roms and the DM swear roms.