MT-32 Emulation Project

The following is a timeline of the events as how the happened with regard to the legal status of the emulator.

Pre-October 10, 2003

I began work on the MT-32 emulator around March. As everyone who's followed the development knows, the initial versions were very rough and demonstrated how hard it would be to write an emulator (sq3emu.mp3). Once I had achieved a certain level of quality, I contacted Roland and asked them for permission to use the ROM. I was operating under the assumption that the ROM was indeed copyrighted.

After Roland declined my request, I did some additional research and realized that Roland may have forfeited the copyright per 17 USCS Sect. 504. Roland was not very happy to hear this and promised to get back in contact with me with regard to the notice omission.

October 10, 2003

Roland's lawyers sent Colin, Vlad and me Cease and Desist (CeaseAndDesist.pdf) letters requesting that we take any MT-32 ROM and emulation related material down. Interestingly, the C&D letter had several mistakes in it. Namely, 1) The ROM was not available on Vlad and Snover's site. Had Roland's counsel clicked on the link they would have discovered the notice regarding unavailability of the ROM. And, 2) Roland's counsel completely ignored my reference to 17 USCS Sect. 504.

I responded to Roland by reiterating my case and directing Roland's lawyers to the relevant law given the age of the MT-32. At this time I also obtained representation by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

It came to light that though 17 USCS Sect. 504 was relevant, a WTO symposium (The Uruguay Round) resulted in many international works having their copyrights restored in cases of copyright omission. Three requirements needed to be met to be classed as an international work and therefore considered a "restored work" under United States copyright law. While the first two requirements are not presently under contention, the third however, is. This requirement deals with publication dates. If the MT-32's first sale in Japan was 30 days before the first sale in the United States, then the MT-32 qualifies as a restored work. If Roland cannot show proof of such a disparity in international publication dates, then the work is not considered "restored" and is therefore in the Public Domain.

The EFF and I therefore requested that Roland provide evidence of the MT-32 as being a "restored work".

November 13, 2003

After missing a two week deadline, Roland's counsel responded and requested more time to find the relevant documents. (Delay.pdf)

November 26, 2003

After another two weeks, the EFF requested again that Roland provide evidence. Roland's representation replied in an email, that read:

Thanks for your e-mail. I wanted to be sure that we have gathered all the relevant documents before responding in detail. While he have been able to pin down the precise date of the first sale in Japan, Roland's U.S. distributor has thus far been unable to locate documents showing the first sale in the United States. The search is continuing for these documents. While Roland is confident that the requisite 30 day time differential was met, and that the MT-32 sound set qualifies as a restored work, I would prefer that we proceed with documentary evidence rather than anecdotally. Unfortunately, this means that we are unlikely to have an answer for Mr. Beeler by Thanksgiving. Roland very much appreciates your patience, and we do expect to be able to get back to you by the time you return from your vacation.

December 9, 2003

Roland, on failing to find to any substantial documentation, yields to the publication of the MT-32 emulator. It should be noted their offer is without prejudice, meaning that if any evidence does surface, Roland will request that this site be taken down again. (Offer.pdf)