Is it stealing to pirate a game you own physicaly but cant install

[Tdc2182]

I could be wrong, but I don't think that is technically even illegal.

I think if you alter your game in any way you cannot sell it back and void whatever contract you have, but I have a feeling that I read it was Okay.

 

[AmbitiousWorm]

But you aren't giving/lending/selling that copy to other people. You are using it for personal use, which is what the "backup" you're allowed to make is supposed to be used for.

But how you got it isn't allowed. you are allowed copies as long as you make them and use them yourself.

 

[Tdc2182]

I don't believe so, I know a lot of devs would argue with me (since they'd get more money if you broke it and had to buy another) but I think most of the money that is paid for a game is going towards the intellectual property, rather than a mass produced disc or cartridge so IMO if you have bought a game I believe it should be ok.

I bought a truck and it broke down so I stole another one from the dealer.

As I said, I believe most of the money is towards intellectual property, rather than individual parts made to make it, which would almost undoubtedly be more expensive in a car.

it doesn't matter what the money is for its still using an illegal copy

You're allowed to make backups of games you own.

He owns the game, since he paid for a legal copy. Now he can't use the copy he paid for, so he gets a "backup" from somewhere else.

He gets to play the game he paid for, the company that makes it still gets his money, how is that wrong?

because he/she didn't make the copy someone else did it and by releasing it out to the public they have done something illegal. By downloading it (no one cares that you already own it) you are illegally getting the product.

You can't illegaly obtain something you've already legally obtained. That's like saying if you have a real doctors prescription for weed but you get the weed from a drug dealer instead of a licensed store, the weed is illegal all of a sudden. It's only illegal for that drug dealer, not that guy.

I'm actually pretty sure that if that would ever actually happen, it would be considered illegal.

 

[Watchmacallit]

I'm pretty sure the legal policy states you can have one copy for personal use in case the original is damaged. But don't take my word for it.

That is indeed the legal policy. The question here is whether it is legal or not to get that copy online, rather than making it yourself.

Getting the game online is completely legal. As long as you aren't uploading which is impossible with P2P programs. Downloading isn't illegal and I think that is so you can get a copy considering to burn a game requires breaking through the copyright.

Downloading is okay, uploading is a no no.

This is what I've gathered from research as I have downloaded a show such as Supernatural just in case the box set I bought gets destroyed.

 

[Mercsenary]

Recently my gaming computer broke down so im forced to use a netbook my mom lent me now what I am wondering is if it is considered stealing if I own the game example Gothic 1 but becouse the netbook lacks a disc drive I cant install and play it like normal so is it bad to get a online copy for a game I legitedly own?



I dont support piracy or theaft and such so this is why I am asking if this kinda question is against rules then sorry in advance.

Congratulations. You have now entered the grey area of copy right infringement

 

[Jewrean]

IMO not piracy. Not at all. You own the game. Providing you do not give the copy of it to anyone you are well within your right to do this.

At the end of the day, you payed for the game. You have the right to play it on any of your machines with any method you choose.

 

[Phyroxis]

I bought a truck and it broke down so I stole another one from the dealer.

That is not an analogous situation. Your statement applies to the broken computer, if he were contemplating stealing a replacement.

It'd be like his CD player broke, so he now needs to get the music from his still-fine CDs onto his new MP3 player without using a middleman.

There is no analog for his situation in the automotive, or many other non-tech domains. This pertains to software. The software is already licensed to him. He no longer has the means to install the software on a machine, despite being entitled to play the software on that machine.


Honestly, OP, you could rip the CD on another computer, e-mail the file to yourself and then install that on your netbook and you'd be within the law. Downloading the file from somewhere else and you'd still probably be fine legally. Morally, I think you're well within your rights.

 

[GotMalkAvian]

Obviously most game publishers would argue against this since it leaves a legal loophole for sites to host games, but according to the law its legal. Just like you can rip a CD you own to your MP3 player, you're allowed to maintain a "digital backup" copy of a game you own.

 

[AmbitiousWorm]

I'm pretty sure the legal policy states you can have one copy for personal use in case the original is damaged. But don't take my word for it.

That is indeed the legal policy. The question here is whether it is legal or not to get that copy online, rather than making it yourself.

Getting the game online is completely legal. As long as you aren't uploading which is impossible with P2P programs. Downloading isn't illegal and I think that is so you can get a copy considering to burn a game requires breaking through the copyright.

Downloading is okay, uploading is a no no.

This is what I've gathered from research as I have downloaded a show such as Supernatural just in case the box set I bought gets destroyed.

Downloading it is illegal. You are stealing it. The copy you get off the internet is not the copy you paid for.

 

[Rabid Toilet]

I'm pretty sure the legal policy states you can have one copy for personal use in case the original is damaged. But don't take my word for it.

That is indeed the legal policy. The question here is whether it is legal or not to get that copy online, rather than making it yourself.

Getting the game online is completely legal. As long as you aren't uploading which is impossible with P2P programs. Downloading isn't illegal and I think that is so you can get a copy considering to burn a game requires breaking through the copyright.

Downloading is okay, uploading is a no no.

This is what I've gathered from research as I have downloaded a show such as Supernatural just in case the box set I bought gets destroyed.

Yeah, I remembered something about downloading stuff actually being legal, though it was a while ago.

From what I remember, it's perfectly legal to download a game/movie/anime/whatever, it's only illegal to upload them.

Like I said though, this was a while ago, and I'm not 100% sure that's the case here.

 

[AmbitiousWorm]

I bought a truck and it broke down so I stole another one from the dealer.

That is not an analogous situation. Your statement applies to the broken computer, if he were contemplating stealing a replacement.

It'd be like, his CD player broke, so he now needs to get the music from his still-fine CDs onto his new MP3 player without using a middleman.

There is no analog for his situation in the automotive, or many other non-tech domains. This pertains to software. The software is already licensed to him. He no longer has the means to install the software on a machine, despite being entitled to play the software on that machine.


Honestly, OP, you could rip the CD on another computer, e-mail the file to yourself and then install that on your netbook and you'd be within the law. Downloading the file from somewhere else and you'd still probably be fine legally. Morally, I think you're well within your rights.

You buy one item. You break the item. You need another item. You get it illegally. How is that legal?

 

[Rabid Toilet]

Downloading it is illegal. You are stealing it. The copy you get off the internet is not the copy you paid for.

I don't know how many times I can reiterate this.

Software is not the same as other things you can purchase. It's all just data. Whether you copy the data yourself or get a copy from somewhere else, you still have the game data. There is no "copy" that you're getting from somewhere, and you aren't paying for a "copy". You're paying the company for the right to access their data. If you paid for that right and you're accessing the data, it's all good.

 

[Phyroxis]

I bought a truck and it broke down so I stole another one from the dealer.

That is not an analogous situation. Your statement applies to the broken computer, if he were contemplating stealing a replacement.

It'd be like, his CD player broke, so he now needs to get the music from his still-fine CDs onto his new MP3 player without using a middleman.

There is no analog for his situation in the automotive, or many other non-tech domains. This pertains to software. The software is already licensed to him. He no longer has the means to install the software on a machine, despite being entitled to play the software on that machine.


Honestly, OP, you could rip the CD on another computer, e-mail the file to yourself and then install that on your netbook and you'd be within the law. Downloading the file from somewhere else and you'd still probably be fine legally. Morally, I think you're well within your rights.

How is it different? Because it is not a physical thing? Your money in your bank is not a physical thing. What if I helped my self to that? How is that different?

I never said non-physical. I said software and licensed. While those are non-physical, they are a specific type of non-physical. My money is not software nor is it licensed to you.

The software I've (or anyone else has) purchased from a company, however, is licensed to me to be used by me. If the original copy of the software is damaged, the license is still not revoked. In many situations, you're not actually paying for the bits on a CD or DVD or in a digital download (you definitely do not own the software in anyway, that is the property of the developer and publisher). You're actually just paying for the serial key that unlocks those bits for your personal use.

It's stealing if you do not pay for a license to use the product. If you've paid for a license, you are entitled to use the software within the scope of the license. Generally those licenses say that you may not distribute the software, but say very little about how you can obtain the software.

 

[Phyroxis]

It's legal and perfectly justified. I lost my Crash Bandicoot 1 PSX disc at some point, so I torrented an iso of it and ran it using an emulator and a gamepad. How is that bad?

Actually, thats different from the OP's situation. He still intends to play the software within the environment for which it was developed. You ran the downloaded copy of the software in a different environment, for which I doubt it was licensed. Should you have been prosecuted for it, you'd have a less justifiable case.

 

[Mstrswrd]

I don't believe so, I know a lot of devs would argue with me (since they'd get more money if you broke it and had to buy another) but I think most of the money that is paid for a game is going towards the intellectual property, rather than a mass produced disc or cartridge so IMO if you have bought a game I believe it should be ok.

I bought a truck and it broke down so I stole another one from the dealer.

As I said, I believe most of the money is towards intellectual property, rather than individual parts made to make it, which would almost undoubtedly be more expensive in a car.

it doesn't matter what the money is for its still using an illegal copy

Actually not. Data works a bit differently (legally). For example, if I go to a store and buy an actual CD of music (bit of a dated reference, but run with it), and I can prove that I bought it (basically, have the CD, keep the receipt), I am legally allowed to download the songs if, say, the CD gets scratched and 2 of the songs don't play. This isn't a gray area; I asked my Attourney Uncle about it once, and he explained, very clearly, that as long as you can prove that, yes, youy actually did pay for it, then they have no case against you (at least in New York. I think copyright law is national, so it should be the same everywhere in the U.S., but don't quote me on that).

Plus, the fact is, Data is easy to recreate once the initial burden of creation is completed; I can create a literal infinite number of copies of a piece of data, and all it takes is a little time, but, using your example, to make a truck is using a very finite resource (or, rather, resources, such as metal, rubber, plastics, leather, etc)., as well as time. It's part of the reason that data is not held to the same standard as physical goods.

If we continue to use the music CD as an example, what he couldn't do would be to take another CD if his CD got damaged. If you want another CD, you are taking a finite resource; the CD, therefore, you have to buy it. If you want to replace the infinite data of the specific songs, it is not illegal (if you can, as I said, prove you own it), though that hasn't stopped music agencies from rattling cages in the past (when proof arises, the cases are usually dismissed, though with much grumbling).

Apologies if I was rude.

 

[Watchmacallit]

OKAY! Just did some research. Lots of legal documents, very annoying.

IT IS LEGAL to backup your game.

Now, heres the problem.

IT IS ILLEGAL to download a game as it is not YOUR copy.
AND
IT IS ILLEGAL to break the copyright on your game which you have to do in order to make a backup.

So essentially you can't back up your game what so ever. Sorry for my earlier posts, I should have researched more. I hope this helps.

 

[-Torchedini-]

But only legally own a single copy and, maybe, the rights to make copies for personal use. You don't own the rights to get copies of it through illegal methods.

What illegal methods ? Newsgroups are not illegal. Neither are torrents.