Question regarding IP rights of Roland MT-32 ROMs

[Expack3]

In another thread I made, Collector made a passing comment that the IP rights of the Roland MT-32 ROMs are "tenuous". This made me ask myself what this means, precisely. I had done some previous research on the topic, and came to a similar conclusion as Collector. As such, at Collector's behest in a PM conversation, I've created this thread to attempt to compile a more complete answer as to why the MT-32 ROMs are tenuous. Anyone who has knowledge or related information on the subject can feel free to post it here.

[Collector]

Originally, the Roland lawyers slapped Dean Beeler (Canada Cow) with a C&D shortly after he first started the MT-32 emulation project. After a while, it turned out that Roland's IP claim was not so clear cut. Rather than fight it, they just started to not be so public with their resistance to the project. Perhaps because they felt that a legal challenge might have gone against them? I guess that tenuous ownership is better than none.

That is what I remember, but I may well be off. I don't know if Qbix or MI might have better recall on this. For anyone looking for the ROMs, you can usually dig something up via a Google search. Just please do not openly request or offer them here.

[Expack3]

To further this thread's goal, I'm going to post my research on the topic below. I should note that I had help from a friend of mine (who shall remain nameless) in performing the research.

• The contents of this VOGONS thread by canadacow (aka Dean Beeler), if they are to be believed, seem to suggest the MT-32 ROMs were never registered - effectively making them public-domain upon the MT-32's release. I am specifically referring to the fourth post in the thread, made the thread's author:

  He [Roland representative Mark Kent] says they are copyrighted but after further research I am unable to verify if the PCM samples are indeed copyrighted. I have checked for their registration with the U.S. Copyright Office and the Library of Congress, and there is no record of the MT-32 samples being copyrighted. (There is, however, a record of copyrighted wavetable samples from the SC-55 on) Furthermore, a law was passed in 1989 that makes the notice of copyright optional on fixed works. Before, 1989, omitting a copyright notice meant the work was placed in the public domain. Authors were given 5 years from the passage of this law to correctly register their works made before this year that were not properly labeled (Roland did not do this). Again, the MT-32 and the samples were first fixed in 1987. On opening my MT-32, I see no copyright notice on the ROM's and as previously stated, I cannot find any official copyright registration with the U.S. government. As such, I will probably be giving Mike a call Monday and inquire about whether or not the samples are indeed copyrighted. I'll let you know how it goes.

• This section of Dean Beeler's MT-32 emulator project website suggests there may be a lack of evidence that the MT-32 and its ROMs fall within the confines of Berne Convention Implementation Act.
• The MT-32 Owner's Manual cites the copyright date as 1987, while Wikipedia (not the best source in the world) cites the Second and Third editions of the MT-32 Service Notes as released in January and October of 1988. It is important to note that the aforementioned Berne Convention Implementation Act technically took effect in the United States of America in March 1989.

[Collector]

Those were the same sources that I got my impression from, too, but memory faded by several years. It looks like the ROMs are public domain but Roland left it hanging to leave the status in doubt. I wish it was definite as to the status. I would love to be scripting my installers for some of the games to use a Munt Build of DOSBox, but just don't feel comfortable about distributing said ROMs. Of course I could do it without the ROMs and leave it up to the user to acquire them and place them in the game's folder, but considering my installers' intended target, I would have to configure DOSBox to not use Roland unless the installer detected the presence of the ROMs. I would have to add to my configuration utility to make it configurable for the novice to get DOSBox to use Roland sound.