Legal Implications of running a server

[predominant]

Hey all,

I am sure this has been a hot topic since the EQemu was made available for the public to download.

I am currently presenting a proposal to the University at which I study, to host an EverQuest server for the students.

One issue that I cannot get a clear answer on, is the legal implications it will have on the University.

Can anyone help me answer this?

Cheers,
Predominant

[Merth]

If you're really that concerned about legal implications, it's best to consult a lawyer. I doubt any judge will accept a defense of "but some guy i don't know on an internet forum said it was ok!"

At the very least, consult the IT department at the university.

[devn00b]

legal? none. just tell yer university (if they trip) too look at sony vs bleem. nuff said

sony sued bleem over there Playstation emulator. 3 times infact. and lost all 3 times. the judge stated that emulators (long as they use no code from the thing they are emulating) are not breaking any laws. thats how eqemu has been arround as long as it has. sony knows from past experiance that they cant win

[Mortenson721]

Mainly all you are doing anyway is hosting a Database, The people who play on EMU servers still have to buy Everquest(R) to play. All you are doing is hosting the information EQ needs to place NPC's and a wide range of other stuff. There is nothing Illegal about that.

[IAFunkymushroom]

/dev/n00b,

I'm not trying to flame ya but I am disagreeing with your opinion that a lawsuit with Sony over eqemu would be a walk in the park.

First of all, You may want to read the article, "Sony wins second victory against PlayStation emulator" by Tony Smith.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/3894.html

The lawsuit finally ended in a loss after the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the preliminary injunction, but it wasn't by any means an easy victory as you made it seem.

Now don't start typing your flame yet.... I know that Sony vs. Bleem is different from the Sony vs. Connectix story. The Connectix emulator was said to be not entirely reverse engineered and the Bleem software was said to be entirely new code. I would guess at best case scenario that the code for eqemu is entirely original and based on proper reverse engineering means, but I don't know for certain. Also, eqemu directly uses everquest local side software and code. So I'm not sure how this affects the case but it is different than the case with the playstation emulators.

Secondly, you might want to consider all the user agreements that were made known playing everquest. I understand that it is suggested that they don't hold up in court but it would be stupid to not consider them.

Thirdly, eqemu is nonprofit and I doubt Sony sees it as a threat. Another reason Sony wouldn't sue eqemu is because theres no one to sue with any money. Not to mention that the playability of eqemu is not really comparable to everquest live at the moment. Or atleast not enough for Sony to consider eqemu a competitor. Did I mention Eqemu is Nonprofit?!?! (sarcasm)

Notes from http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/9179.html
about Sony vs Bleem and Sony vs. Connectix.

Tony Smith states, "You'll note that the ruling doesn't specifically legitimise what Connectix did. It simply states that the company's fair use of the PlayStation BIOS in the development of a non-infringing version of VGS."

Tony Smith also states, "Bleem!'s PlayStation-on-a-PC was hit by an identical suit from Sony, but as a purely reverse-engineered product (as opposed to Connectix's sort-of-reverse-engineered software) Sony was unable to gain a ban on sales of Bleem!'s software. Those "intermediate copies" will surely form the basis of Sony's case against Connectix when it comes to trial, and while yesterday's judgement simply allows the developer to begin selling VGS again, it does strengthen its defence against Sony."

Basically all I wanted was to add that I agree with Merth.. Consult a lawyer... I'm not a lawyer and I'm not going to pretend to know what I'm talking about when it comes to reverse engineering laws. In addition, I would doubt very seriously that a University would support and run such a server given the hint of legal implications.

-Funkymushroom

[x-scythe]

thats a lot of writing

[predominant]

Thanks for your ideas and opinions guys, I'm happy to report that I met with the university yesterday and they have approved the server.

I've been assigned a Athlon 1800+ with 768Mb RAM etc etc.. 20 Gb HDD.

I'm not certain what speed the connection is, as no-one seems to know. I can assure you that the conection is blindingly fast.

Again, thanks for your help. Without your input, this server would not have been possible.