garffenator
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Utah
I have a question that I cannot seem to find an answer to, because many people just download free mp3 files from the Internet without thinking twice about it. However, I have some qualms about the legality of doing so.
I am interested in downloading mp3 files of music from The Legend of Zelda video game soundtracks for my little brother for his birthday. This is for strictly personal use only; I just want to make a CD that he and I can listen to for fun. We own the games, but not an actual copy of the soundtrack. However, the soundtracks are fairly old and can now only be obtained online through places like Amazon Marketplace. Some of them are foreign imports. There are no mp3 files available for purchase and download anywhere. However, several sites have the files for free, and so I sent an email to Nintendo about them. This is what they told me:
"We appreciate the interest in downloading MP3 files of the Zelda game music. Being a Zelda fan myself, I can certainly undersand your interest in these music files.
"Nintendo" is a registered trademark of Nintendo of America Inc. Nintendo owns extensive intellectual property rights in all of its products, including video game systems, game titles, characters, game software, graphics, artwork, music, and screen shots. Nintendo also retains rights in content on Nintendo's websites, including articles, artwork, screen shots and other files. Trademarks and copyrights for third-party games and characters are owned by the companies which market or license those products.
While we are grateful for all the requests for permission to download and use Nintendo properties, we are not able to grant such requests. We receive thousands of requests and do not have adequate staffing to review them all. Therefore, our general policy is to decline requests for permission for the use of Nintendo properties.
At this time, Nintendo does not offer music downloads like you are seeking. Also, the sites offering this music are not doing so with our permission.
Although we are unable to grant permission, use of Nintendo's properties without formal permission by Nintendo may still be allowed under the relevant laws of the particular jurisdiction involved. Thus, we encourage you to seek your own legal counsel if you have any questions about whether your particular proposed use is permitted without Nintendo's authorization. Nintendo cannot provide legal advice.
I have also forwarded your email to our Legal Department for further review regarding the websites that are offering this music to download. While you won’t be contacted further regarding this issue, we appreciate your taking the time to provide us with information about these sites. If you see other sites infringing on our copyrights in the future, please email the specific details to the following address:
[email protected] "
I am wondering especially about the second to last paragraph. Does this mean that I could legally download these files for personal use? The websites I have looked at are these:
Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Original Sound Track MP3 Downloads
Zelda Reorchestrated Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda Soundtracks - Zelda Universe - All the Zelda info you need.
The first website has this to say about the legality of their operations:
Galbadia Hotel - Legal Information
I am quite confused. Maybe I should just give up the chase, but if there's a chance that I could really download these files, I would love to do so. Thanks so much in advance for your help!
Utah
I have a question that I cannot seem to find an answer to, because many people just download free mp3 files from the Internet without thinking twice about it. However, I have some qualms about the legality of doing so.
I am interested in downloading mp3 files of music from The Legend of Zelda video game soundtracks for my little brother for his birthday. This is for strictly personal use only; I just want to make a CD that he and I can listen to for fun. We own the games, but not an actual copy of the soundtrack. However, the soundtracks are fairly old and can now only be obtained online through places like Amazon Marketplace. Some of them are foreign imports. There are no mp3 files available for purchase and download anywhere. However, several sites have the files for free, and so I sent an email to Nintendo about them. This is what they told me:
"We appreciate the interest in downloading MP3 files of the Zelda game music. Being a Zelda fan myself, I can certainly undersand your interest in these music files.
"Nintendo" is a registered trademark of Nintendo of America Inc. Nintendo owns extensive intellectual property rights in all of its products, including video game systems, game titles, characters, game software, graphics, artwork, music, and screen shots. Nintendo also retains rights in content on Nintendo's websites, including articles, artwork, screen shots and other files. Trademarks and copyrights for third-party games and characters are owned by the companies which market or license those products.
While we are grateful for all the requests for permission to download and use Nintendo properties, we are not able to grant such requests. We receive thousands of requests and do not have adequate staffing to review them all. Therefore, our general policy is to decline requests for permission for the use of Nintendo properties.
At this time, Nintendo does not offer music downloads like you are seeking. Also, the sites offering this music are not doing so with our permission.
Although we are unable to grant permission, use of Nintendo's properties without formal permission by Nintendo may still be allowed under the relevant laws of the particular jurisdiction involved. Thus, we encourage you to seek your own legal counsel if you have any questions about whether your particular proposed use is permitted without Nintendo's authorization. Nintendo cannot provide legal advice.
I have also forwarded your email to our Legal Department for further review regarding the websites that are offering this music to download. While you won’t be contacted further regarding this issue, we appreciate your taking the time to provide us with information about these sites. If you see other sites infringing on our copyrights in the future, please email the specific details to the following address:
[email protected] "
I am wondering especially about the second to last paragraph. Does this mean that I could legally download these files for personal use? The websites I have looked at are these:
Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Original Sound Track MP3 Downloads
Zelda Reorchestrated Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda Soundtracks - Zelda Universe - All the Zelda info you need.
The first website has this to say about the legality of their operations:
Galbadia Hotel - Legal Information
I am quite confused. Maybe I should just give up the chase, but if there's a chance that I could really download these files, I would love to do so. Thanks so much in advance for your help!