Twinbee posted on Mar 22 2005 at  01:11 AM said:
			
		
	
	
		
		
			I could've sworn I read on the official forums, that mame wasn't completely 'open source'...
		 
These sections from the MAME license pretty well explain things:
IV. Source Code Distribution
----------------------------
   If you distribute the binary (compiled) version of MAME, you should also
   distribute the source code. If you can't do that, you must provide a link
   to a site where the source can be obtained.
V. Distribution Integrity
-------------------------
   This chapter applies to the official MAME distribution. See below for
   limitations on the distribution of derivative works.
   MAME must be distributed only in the original archives. You are not allowed
   to distribute a modified version, nor to remove and/or add files to the
   archive.
VI. Reuse of Source Code
--------------------------
   This chapter might not apply to specific portions of MAME (e.g. CPU
   emulators) which bear different copyright notices.
   The source code cannot be used in a commercial product without the written
   authorization of the authors. Use in non-commercial products is allowed, and
   indeed encouraged.  If you use portions of the MAME source code in your
   program, however, you must make the full source code freely available as
   well.
   Usage of the _information_ contained in the source code is free for any use.
   However, given the amount of time and energy it took to collect this
   information, if you find new information we would appreciate if you made it
   freely available as well.
VII. Derivative Works
---------------------
   Derivative works are allowed, provided their source code is freely
   available. However, these works are discouraged. MAME is a continuously-
   -evolving project. It is in your best interests to submit your contributions
   to the MAME development team, so they may be integrated into the main
   distribution.
   There are some specific modifications to the source code which go against
   the spirit of the project. They are NOT considered a derivative work, and
   distribution of executables containing them is strictly forbidden. Such
   modifications include, but are not limited to:
   - enabling games that are disabled
   - changing the ROM verification commands so that they report missing games
   - removing the startup information screens
   If you make a derivative work, you are not allowed to call it MAME. You must
   use a different name to make clear that it is a MAME derivative, not an
   official distribution from the MAME team. Simply calling it MAME followed or
   preceded by a punctuation mark (e.g. MAME+) is not sufficient. The name must
   be clearly distinct (e.g. REMAME). The version number must also match the
   number of the official MAME version from which you derived your version.