Is this thing legal?

as a note i saw one at a local gaming shop. Looked like it worked good he had 2 up and running one running mario 3 NES and the other running super metroid. It was a clean image from what i saw i believe he was charging either 50 or 75. this is in georiga
 
[quote name='Thunderscope']http://baysoftgames.com/sutwdusl.html

I know the cheap NES Knockoffs are legal but this thing also plays SNES games which I thought Nintendo still had its patent on. This sounds awesome and I may purchase one but is it even legal?[/QUOTE]

I think it's actually legal but this is just a guess from what I've heard.
 
If it was not legal, Nintendo would have probably jumped on them by now. But that's just my opinion.

And I too am in Georgia, and have seen these in several of the Rhino Videogame stores, which of course have dropped from the planet thanks to the almighty no competition allowed juggernaut that is the evil Gamestop. Anyways, it was at a price of $59.99 last time I was in there, because they were clearing stuff out due to the fact Gamestop doesn't sell "old" stuff.
 
Hmm... I'd lean towards a 'no' on that question.

But legality is a matter for the courts to decide. Until then just buy one and have fun! :D
 
Patents only last 17 years.....so if the SNES stuff was laid down prior to 1990, it's open game. This is very likely 100% legal.
 
[quote name='Pucker']Patents only last 17 years.....so if the SNES stuff was laid down prior to 1990, it's open game. This is very likely 100% legal.[/quote]

Its 90% of cases its 20 years from the date of filing. The NES patentsjust expired last year, so I doubt the SNES patents are up yet.
 
According to wiki the system was released in 91, so the patent had to have come in sometime in 89 or 90. Given the 20 year patent laws, I would say they have another couple of years before it's legal.
 
[quote name='Warner1281']According to wiki the system was released in 91, so the patent had to have come in sometime in 89 or 90. Given the 20 year patent laws, I would say they have another couple of years before it's legal.[/quote]

They might not have even gotten the patent that early. You have to patent seperately in each Country, and a product can be released before the company actually gets the patent as long as theyve filed for it already. Thats why you see the words 'patent pending' on alot of stuff.

Its easily conceivable that Nintendo didnt get a US patent for the snes till 91 or even later, in which case no way would it be expired yet.
 
But all this patent stuff is U.S law, corrrect? I'm pretty sure these things aren't made in the U.S. But selling them in the U.S. is a diffrent story.
 
yeah its legal. as i recall someone else had a system that did the same thing only it had the original nintendo colors on it and they even had their own brand of cool controllers too. i guess the rule of thumb is you can make something that plays the games but it cant play roms. or maybe they got nintendos permission.
 
[quote name='Rodimus Donut']But all this patent stuff is U.S law, corrrect? I'm pretty sure these things aren't made in the U.S. But selling them in the U.S. is a diffrent story.[/quote]

Lots of countries have patent systems and laws.

All a patent does, is stop anyone but the patent holder from manufacturing, modifying, or selling the patented product in the country in which the patent was issued.

So Nintendo holds a US patent on the snes hardware. For as long as they hold it no one else can make, mod, or sell a device that plays snes software, or uses snes peripherals.

Even when the patent is to expire, the holder can renew it, but they have to prove that they are using the patent. Basically for Nintendo to renew, they would have to manufacture new SNES consoles or somehow incorporate the hardware into another product.

So unless Nintendo applied for their US patent on snes hardware more than 20 years ago any device that plays snes carts sold here is illegal. Now Nintendo could license other companies to manufacture and sell these things legally if they wanted. But I highly doubt that is the case.
 
It's legal... something to do with a company having 20 years on a product before it becomes open to everybody.

Since it's been more than years since the NES was originally patented, other companies can now make clones of it.
 
Patents in the USA were for 17 years before the mid-1990's. I'd assume the NES/SNES patents were all started before the consoles launched.

There are alot of complexity with these things. You are probably looking at many patents and difference in every country they were filed in. Who knows...
 
I'm not sure if it's legal. Even if it is jumping the gun though, why would Nintendo care? Honestly, they aren't making money on the SNES anymore, and haven't for years. If they were still selling the system, that would be one thing. But, if they have no interest, why not let someone else (I'm doubting this will hurt online game sales on the Wii at all).

This might be nice for the young kids. I have a 4 year old nephew that I let play games when he comes over. I've been looking for a system to get him (has to be cart based since they'll take some bumps). I've been debating between a SNES and an N64, leaning a bit to the N64 since they are closer to games that he plays now (like Tony Hawk games).
 
There's also the issue of patent extension due to modifications of hardware and new patents issued on similar hardware, with the introduction of the the V2 SNES, patents still may be covered, but I'm not a) a patent attorney, and b) going to do a extraneous amount of research to see what is still under patent in certain countries/territories.
 
[quote name='BigDirty']There's also the issue of patent extension due to modifications of hardware and new patents issued on similar hardware, with the introduction of the the V2 SNES, patents still may be covered, but I'm not a) a patent attorney, and b) going to do a extraneous amount of research to see what is still under patent in certain countries/territories.[/quote]

Ya know I forgot all about that Snes Jr. and I have one! lol If Nintendo got new patents, or extensions when the Jr. was released, then for sure this device is illegal. I used to work as a paralegal for a patent/trademark attorney, so thats why I know a small bit about how it works (very small bit ;))


I still think its illegal either way, but like another poster said, Nintendo probably doesnt care. And why should you care if Nintendo doesnt?
 
Okay, I'm a bit of an expert on the subject of Famiclones and other bootleg/clone hardware. No, an SNES clone is absolutely not legal. And furthermore, many Famiclones are still actually in question (see this article for more info).

And yes, Nintendo does have a history of going after on Famiclone manufacturers, even in recent years. No one is going to get in trouble for owning one, I can guarantee you that. But if you're a company making them, beware. Though they haven't been as vigilant as they have in the past few years, when they do come down, they come down hard.

Anyways, in regards to this particular clone, they're quite nice; definitely one of the better clones on the market. The SNES functionality is pretty much spot-on, accurate to perfection, I'd say. However, like just about every single NES clone on the market, the sound in NES games isn't quite perfect when played on the FC Twin; you'll notice odd-sounding sound effects, and occasionally warped music. And again, like just all NES clones, there are some games that simply won't run on it; specifically, Castlevania III (I don't think any Famiclones play this game), and Dragon Warrior II, and a few others, I believe.

Still, worth it, if you have neither an NES or SNES.
 
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