Do you know how much original ROM data can be replicated in a patch and still qualify as "fair use"? For instance, my patches/fixes don't break 600 bytes in an IPS (they're usually well under half of that). Over 10 bytes of that is the IPS header and footer. And at least 1/4 is my new code. So that leaves 450 bytes tops for Square code. 450 / 3145728 = 0.00143 = 0.0143%. Yes, less than one fiftieth of one percent.
Let's look at fair use in another media: songs. Suppose a 3.5 minute song. People can readily sample 5 seconds of that without any fear of prosecution. 5 / 210 = 0.0238095 = 2.381%.
Let's be generous to the intellectual property holders and use 2-percent inclusion as a cut-off. For the FF3us/FF6j ROM, that'd come out to 62,914 bytes. Most patches are nowhere close to that.
Admittedly, large overhauls (such as Crimson Echoes or PB) exceed that. And it's incredibly lame that Square would clamp down on some of the biggest fans of a game, whose enthusiasm is evidenced by their dedicated toiling. And it's lamer still that the game in question is nearly 14 years old, yet its maker "defends" it as if it's stocking store shelves. But what I'm trying to do here is figure out how large of patches would be completely safe in court.
I have no delusions that Square (or Nintendo, for Zelda 3) gives a rat's ass about my little patches, so I'm not particularly afraid. However, it's worth discussing the furthest things could legally go if the bug up their ass grew or multiplied, and they initiated a full-court press.
As for Pandora's Box, maybe you guys should assume a lower profile and stop posting updates on Romhacking.net? One poster there reacting to the CE news expressed concern over the precedent it could set for PB. Also, torrents and P2P are your friends, when the day comes.
