Hacker News Reader

When you make this kind of claim, please make sure to 1) disclose whether you're a lawyer, and 2) your jurisdiction.

No. This is not legally binding. This is not the United States Of America where we speak officially, this is a random web forum.

I think the point is that the audience might like to know whether confident claims that something is legal or illegal are backed by actual expertise or just vibes, not that things people say on a web forum are legally binding.

The same as when you talk to a random person at a pub. All illegal and just vibes, always - that is the default.

There’ve been lawsuits. Anything can happen in court, but emulators are currently about as settled as “legal” as anything. Including commercial ones. Sure, in the US.

Can’t distribute games or other copyrighted software with them, though. Of course that’s still highly likely to get you in trouble. And with the same caveat as anything legal in the US: it’s as legal as your ability to weather a series of failing lawsuits against you.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com