Files
Abdessamad Derraz 958b988015 docs: scope the licence and temper the legal claims
LICENSE covered the whole repository, so the MIT grant read as
covering 9.9 GB of third-party firmware. It now states its scope and
NOTICE describes the files it does not cover, with a removal channel.

The FAQ cited Connectix and Accolade for redistribution when both
decided intermediate copying during reverse engineering, presented fair
use as settled, read section 1201(f) as a general permission, and
listed abandonware among legal doctrines. Each claim is now stated at
the strength it actually has, and the weakest ground is named.
2026-08-11 00:54:10 +02:00

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RetroBIOS - status of the distributed files
===========================================
This repository holds two kinds of material with two different statuses.
1. Tooling and metadata
-----------------------
Everything authored here - the Python scripts, JSON schemas, emulator
profiles, platform configurations, documentation and the generated database -
is released under the MIT License in LICENSE.
2. BIOS, firmware, keys and ROM sets
------------------------------------
The files under bios/ and inside the release packs are third-party system
software. They remain the property of their respective manufacturers, are not
covered by the MIT License, and no licence to them is granted or implied by
this repository.
They are preserved and made available for personal backup, archival, and
interoperability with emulation software. The reasoning the project relies on
is set out in the FAQ:
https://abdess.github.io/retrobios/wiki/faq/#is-this-legal
That reasoning is the project's good-faith position, not legal advice, and it
has not been tested in court.
Reporting a file
----------------
A rights holder, or anyone acting for one, who wants a specific file removed
can open an issue at
https://github.com/Abdess/retrobios/issues
identifying the file by path or hash. Requests are handled on receipt, and a
file whose removal is requested by its rights holder is removed from the
repository and from the next release without requiring a formal notice. State
the file and the basis of the claim; no particular format is needed.