| Aspect | Legal Status | Notes | |--------|--------------|-------| | Emulator software | | Protected as original code (Sony v. Connectix, 2000) | | BIOS/Firmware | Gray area | Usually copyrighted; dumping your own BIOS is often legal | | ROMs/Games | Illegal to distribute | Personal backups of games you own may be legal in some jurisdictions (e.g., US DMCA exemptions) |
| Aspect | Legal Status | Notes | |--------|--------------|-------| | Emulator software | | Protected as original code (Sony v. Connectix, 2000) | | BIOS/Firmware | Gray area | Usually copyrighted; dumping your own BIOS is often legal | | ROMs/Games | Illegal to distribute | Personal backups of games you own may be legal in some jurisdictions (e.g., US DMCA exemptions) |
