A: Please accept that we have no title to fully answer
this question, or to provide legal advice. However, we can try
to clarify some points.
Background
Amiga Forever does not focus on Amiga ROM and operating
system files,
although Amiga Forever contains both multiple emulations of the
original hardware, and multiple operating systems that can run
on top of this hardware. These operating systems do include
different versions of the ROM and operating system as originally published by
the now-defunct Amiga Corporation (formerly Hi-Toro) and its
successors.
Cloanto Italia srl, being the publishers of Amiga Forever,
obtained multiple licenses over different versions and
components of these original ROM and operating system files, as well as over
components designed to provide binary compatibility with the
original operating system. This licensing process began before the
initial publication of Amiga Forever in 1997 (the first
operating system distribution licenses date back to before the
Commodore bankruptcy in 1994), and continued for
more than 10 years, also resulting in multiple licenses covering
the same items. We felt that this was necessary because of a
perceived lack of clarity over some transactions which involved
the ROM and operating system files, and which at times resulted in
controversies (which however never affected Amiga Forever).
Licensing the Operating System
Just like Cloanto licensed the ROM and operating system items, and several
parts thereof, and add-on components that required independent
licensing, it is well known that other parties licensed similar
items, e.g. for limited use on specific magazine cover disks
(e.g. CU Amiga in 1993, PC Intern in 1999, Amiga Plus and PC Magazin in 2000), or with game collections (e.g.
the Amiga operating system up to
2.0x as licensed by the German company Epic Marketing, who
became Runesoft GmbH), or for
publishing the Amiga operating system (e.g. Village Tronic Marketing GmbH for
"Amiga OS 3.1", Haage & Partner Computer GmbH for "Amiga OS 3.5" and "Amiga OS 3.9", Hyperion Entertainment VOF for AmigaOS 4.0), or for
manufacturing entire systems (e.g. Escom AG, MS MacroSystem
Computer GmbH now MacroSystem Digital Video AG, Tianjin Family-used
Multimedia Co., Newstar Electronic Corporation, Rightiming
Electronics Corporation, Regent Electronics Corp., Lotus Pacific
Inc.)
While it is probably difficult to build a portfolio of
licenses like the one put together by Cloanto over the years,
especially since the demise of several Commodore and
Amiga-related companies during and after 1994, it is certainly
possible to do so.
In addition to the original ROM and operating system files, open source
projects such as AROS provide
an increasing level compatibility with the original system. AROS
is both free and easy to license, and includes a 68K build with
binary compatibility option.
Operating Systems from Original Amiga Systems
One way of licensing a (single) copy of the Amiga ROM and
operating system
software is acquiring an Amiga computer. This ownership in
itself does not grant any right to reproduce the ROM or
operating system,
and/or use them on other computers, unless this is expressly
authorized in the license agreement and/or by law.
In many jurisdictions, it is allowed to make a backup copy of
software. One interpretation is that making available such
software over the internet, or using it on another computer does
not constitute a "backup".
Additionally, local laws and precedents, as well as a license
agreement (EULA) that may have been included with the computer
or operating system, may indicate whether it is allowed to use the ROM and/or
operating system on a system other than the one with which they were obtained.
One interpretation is that this is not possible. For example,
Apple Computer, Inc., successfully opposed the use of original
Mac ROMs on boards designed to be mounted inside an Amiga
computer for emulation purposes (i.e. to run Mac software on an
Amiga).
In general, the various owners of Amiga intellectual property
items have always tolerated the personal transfer and use of
one's own ROM and operating system files from an original Amiga to an emulated
Amiga hardware environment on another computer. One
interpretation is that this constitutes a valid backup in
consideration of the fact that the original hardware cannot be
repaired or replaced.
Redistribution on Web Sites
The proliferation of unlicensed Amiga ROM and operating
system files over
the internet was one of the reasons for the official endorsement
that Amiga Forever received in 1997 by Gateway and Amiga
International, two owners of certain Amiga-related intellectual
property assets. Still, it remains a common question as to
whether Amiga ROM and operating system files may be placed online for
unrestricted public download.
The fact that software can technically be reproduced in
unlimited copies at a cost tending towards zero is certainly a
fascinating concept, however the technical "can do" is
independent of the legal "can do", and this topic is not open
for debate on a web site that has to respect legality, and aims
to promote and maintain it in the context of Amiga emulation.
For this reason, we have to consider other aspects, which
include:
- The fact that multiple licensees, ranging from computer
magazines to software publishers to computer manufacturers
are able to legally redistribute the Amiga ROM and operating
system does
not mean the the ROM and operating system are "free", but rather that they
can be licensed
- The fact that it may be possible to make a backup copy
of one's own ROM and operating system files does not mean that the same
can be placed online for public access by others
- Notices such as "You are only authorized to download the
file if you also own the original" or "You must delete the
files within X hours from the download" have little
legal value because they are in contrast with the fact that
files are made available to anybody without verification,
and are based on an incorrect assumption, because only the
license that comes with a ROM, and/or applicable laws can
validly state what can be done and what cannot be done
If you obtained a license for doing so, we see no reason why
you would not be able to offer ROM and operating system files for download.
However, without a license, we are not aware of a single reason
why you would be able to do so, at least until the expiration of
the various copyrights (the original Amiga-related patents have
already expired), which is expected sometime during the 2080s,
or until at least one of the licensees makes his rights
available for this purpose. This is already the case, for
example, for the Amiga-compatible AROS operating system.
So, the answer to the question "Can I put Amiga ROM and
operating system
files on my web site?" is that you probably can, in accordance with any applicable
laws, but you need a proper permission (license) in order to
redistribute something that you do not own. These items include any
that may be owned or licensed by the successors of Amiga Corporation
(formerly Hi-Toro), and numerous other items which are the property of
Cloanto and of other third-party developers, authors and publishers, and
which in general would
require similar licensing.
Cloanto's Position
We like to believe that Amiga
emulation has in general been well-accepted also because, thanks to Amiga Forever, it is properly
licensed and supported. If that were not the case, the situation of Amiga
emulation in 1997 or 1998 could have been similar to what happened to other systems:
police raids, legal actions, court battles, etc. Under such
circumstances, many programmers, as they have stated, would not create any Amiga
emulation software, or any
new versions thereof, and there may be little left of the
Amiga emulation scene. Instead, Amiga emulation evolved and
prospered.
While Amiga Forever as a whole, being the result of several
years of work by Cloanto and its licensors, is a commercial
package, we do not oppose, and actually repeatedly encouraged,
both the idea of making the original Amiga operating system "open
source", and that of creating a similar operating system from scratch (e.g.
the AROS project).
At the same time, because we are licensees of multiple components from different parties, we are part of a chain of
responsibilities, both contractual and determined by local
jurisdictions, when it comes to information about unlicensed ROM
and operating system files, or copies of Amiga Forever. When we receive reports about web sites which are
claimed to provide such files, we are obliged by law and by
contract to take some action. This could be a friendly informative email
to the webmaster, which usually concludes the matter in an
amicable and constructive way for all parties, or, more
regrettably, it could escalate all the way to the ISP and to
local police authorities. When this happens, we consider this a
failure, and we feel very badly about this.
We've also experienced a few unfortunate episodes of
confusing Amiga Forever "home pages" using our graphics, texts, descriptions and
even HTML keywords and tags. These had to be removed. Similarly, eBay listings
occasionally had to be removed,
sometimes with the help of third
parties (Amiga
Forever by Cloanto is listed in eBay's
VeRO
program page). We don't like doing this, and we most certainly would
prefer to prevent such episodes from happening in the first
place, which is one of the reasons why this page exists.
Emulation and Piracy
Cloanto publicly stands for legal Amiga emulation since 1997. As supporters of Amiga emulation
since the beginning and publishers of Amiga Forever, we are
in the difficult position of having to answer to issues of actual software
piracy, but also to the
prejudice that emulation encourages piracy.
For example, we repeatedly asked IDSA to
reconsider some of its public statements and positions about emulation. We
like to believe that also as a direct result of our efforts, which they
graciously acknowledged, their FAQ pages, among others, have been modified
in a way that we see as a positive development towards the acceptance of
emulation.
We believe that ROM and operating system piracy hurt emulation. Please consider what happened to so many emulators
for other systems, and help us keep the Amiga the oasis of emulation peace and prosperity
it is. We need all the support we can get in doing things the proper way, and
challenge the misconception that emulation equals piracy.
Sooner or later the situation will inevitably change (due to the expiration
of copyrights, or because of the quality and diffusion of AROS, or for other
factors), but until then we need your help to preserve the integrity of
Amiga emulation. Please make sure that any floppy disk images of games and
other programs that you may make available through your web site have been
released for such distribution by the publishers. It does not cost much to
ask, and many former Amiga software companies have already given their
consent to this. Please also include information to this respect on your
site, to make other people understand and appreciate this (e.g. "The disk
images on this site have been released by the original publishers for free
online distribution"), and include appropriate copyright and trademark
notices for each file.
Other Resources
The Amiga Forever
Game
Downloads page contains links to some of the sites which have been most
successful in obtaining proper rights to offer old Amiga game titles
for download. While some of the sites are funded by advertising,
the downloads are free.
Links to the Amiga Forever Home Page (http://www.amigaforever.com)
are of course always very appreciated. There is also a
collection of banners that you can use, if you wish, and an
affiliate program, if you would like to
get more actively involved with supporting Amiga Forever. Thank you!
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