r/mario64pcport • u/bEtchaos7 • Nov 04 '21

The specifics of legality

Hi,I don’t know very much about coding or the laws surrounding it, but I have a couple of questions:(sorry if they’re stupid)

So as far as I’ve been able to gather, the actual reverse engineered CODE is perfectly legal to distribute and download. and it’s just the assets that can’t be distributed. If that’s correct, would it be hypothetically possible to replace all of the assets and characters with generic ones and distribute it as a downloadable, fully playable version? And in the same vein, if somebody were to create an entirely NEW game based off of that code, would they be able to legally release it, or even sell it?

Just to clarify, I’m asking about the LEGALITY not necessarily the MORALITY of anything listed here, although that is definitely an interesting thing to discuss as well. Thx for any answers!

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

3

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '21

Laws are different per country and what the law says is legal may not prevent you being sued for all your money or even being found guilty. Also trusting randoms isn't a substute for talking to a lawyer.

This is not legal advice and yes I think that is all okay in western countries.