Legal issue of Kickstart ROMs

[Darrin]

So when it comes to selling "real" Kickstart ROM chips (from the likes of AmigaKit, etc) the who do they get permission from and who is making them?

[Darrin]

One of the reasons I ask is because I wonder whether Minimig type products could be sold with an optional pre-configured SD Card with Kickstart ROM images and/or Workbench Hard File(s) installed if they are sold with real ROM chips and floppy disks.

Or, even cheaper, sold with a link and code for Amiga Forever "Value Edition" which would only add $10 to the price.

[Darrin]

Except that the Minimig firmware that people typically use is not capable of using the "encripled" ROMs that come with AmigaForever.

They may be encrypted, but they are still the actual ROMs, so putting "clean" versons on the SD Card with encrypted versons in Amiga Forever shouldn't matter, should it?.  After all, you can rip clean versions of the ROMs from Amiga forever by running ROM-ripper software from within a running Workbench.

[Darrin]

If you're talking 100% legally worldwide for commercial use then no, they aren't the same.
 
You'd need to get a license from the rights holder, unless another licensee has the rights to ship unencrypted kickstart roms & you can do a deal with them.
 
Doing a deal with Amiga Forever and getting minimig to work off encrypted images would probably be your best bet. Whether you'd still be able to bundle the file on the SD card, I don't know.

I wonder if the Amiga Forever ROMs are encrypted as part of the agreement to use them or to stop people using them with free UAE.

I figured that if you "own" the soft Kickstart then you should be able to use it on whatever machine you want to (PC, Minimig, etc) and decrypt it if you wish.

If that's the case then supplying it decrypted on an SD Card along with the Amiga Forever package shouldn't break the rules as long as it is exactly the same version of the Kickstart, should it?

[Darrin]

Odds are they're old stock that were licensed back in the day.

I'd have thought those 3.1 ROMs would have run out years ago.  

[Darrin]

To be honest, I'm surprised nobody is eBaying "3.2" ROMs with the OS3.9 ROM updates included.

[Darrin]

But you can use them with free UAE, and even the original Minimig firmware. It was later removed to give room for more usefull features

Ah, I thought Jakub had allowed the use of AF encrypted ROMs.  I always used straight ripped ROMs so I never paid much attention, however I was wondering how he had managed to cram in support for hard files without the ARM board.  

[Darrin]

Amiga Kickstart can be bought for $9.95


https://secure.avangate.com/order/checkout.php?CART_ID=4b847eef4028afc61de8f17cbea04279

"Empty shopping cart".

That's useful.