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

[migo]

This gets into one of those gray areas for many people here. Half will say its okay, half will say its still pirating. Its also something that is unclear under the law in many places. You are allowed to maintain a backup copy of any game you legally own and this could be argued as such, some would say its still wrong.


Edit :
Man...did I call it or what. 10 pages of arguing over it with no clear answer. Seems your best option is to flip a coin and go with that.

You sure did call it. I had thought that it was self understood that if you own the game you can do whatever you want. It's a gray area if you own say the 360 version and want to pirate the PC version, but installing on a netbook really shouldn't be causing people any concern.

 

[Xero Scythe]

In the law's eyes, I believe that is legal. Because you already own a physical copy of the game, bought new in the store, if you get a digital download, since it costs the company nothing to copy, you are considered a customer, and as such would only buy a single copy. I think this is the digital equivalent of trading in a broken game for a good copy with a reciept.

 

[Quiet Stranger]

It's legal, or should be, it's like downloading SNES roms or something, if you already own the real thing then yes, it's okay.

 

[sapphireofthesea]

Any game over about 10 years old has already had it's rights lost (copyrights do expire). While some studios renew it many just drop into freeware.
So while 1-3 are defo dodgy (I personally wouldn't use it as an excuse and would look to buy the one that fits the format I will use the most, maybe trade for a different format if I change) 4 and 5 are compleyely legit as they would have dropped into freeware range (roughly 1-2 years or so after they cease to release copies of the game, but I usualy go with the 10 year rule, just to be sure).

a Copyright Expires 95 years after publication.
120 years if under special cases.

the argument about some oldware isn't that the copyright has expired, it is the company that held the copyright no longer exists. Like when 3DO caved in 2003. while some of their more popular franchise where bought up (ArmyMen, Might and Magic, etc.) a large portion of their cataloge was not.

people argue that because these games no longer have a copyright holder they in turn become public domain.

I have known of some copyright expiring after 50 years (thats is wher most of the cheap knock-off brands of some classics come from and I think one company actually failed because of it).
Logic still dictates that if a game is in 16-bit graphics and is no longer being produced the company is not going to re-release the title AS IS, so a copy of the title AS IS is not piracy, they ideas contained with-in the game however would still be under copyright of the company and so making something from the ideas in a game or the game as a whole would still breech copyright.

(Bear in mind it is technically illegal to obtain used games/movies/music CD by trading with friends or even borrowing a friends copy of an RPG or music CD, and it is also illegal to show movies outaide your own home or two a large crowd. The industry allows it for various reasons, but remember, ultimately you would be in breech)

Copyrights get silly, but if you have a legit copy, and you are just trying to get it onto a platform that that copy SHOULD be logically able to function on, but due to lack of hardware cannot, then it is reasonable to seek an alternate method of doing so. If they let you make a personal copy I see no reason in court you can't argue an alternate method as detailed above.

 

[Snotnarok]

It's perfectly fine, people are insane if they expect you to buy it twice. Your game still works you just don't have a disc drive.

I did the exact same thing for Farcry 2, I have the game (came free with my video card) but it has insane DRM and I ran out of installs because I was configing my system. I'm dead serious, I got my installs but I just downloaded a DRM free version because it's bullshit.

 

[Kroxile]

regardless of how people feel about it, it is not against any law to make a back up copy of media that you own for your own personal use.

and thats that.

 

[Reincarnatedwolfgod]

i own a Pokemon crystal cartridge but when i save the game just ends up deleting my saved game for some crazy reason. i will just go with i had game for a long time and it was due to crap out eventually.
yes in my option i have the right to use a emulator.

EDIT: now that i think about it they will never exactly remake the game so Nintendo is losing no money. They could exactly remake it but they would not make that much money from it. By the way heart gold and soul silver do not count as exact remakes since they added lots of new stuff to it.

In your situation i say go download it kind off the same situation i had.

 

[smartengine]

I did this with resident evil 4. My wii Broke so I downloaded the pc version, so i could play a game I bought until my wii got fixed a month later.

Mind you, resi 4 on pc is horrible anyway

You sir actually stole the game.

You paid for the wii version not the PC version.

 

[feather240]

anc[is]

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

If you could could copy/paste a truck I might agree with you.

So because its easy to make copies its okay?

Yeah, it would be.

 

[Sjakie]

In the Netherlands it is actually okay to do this. It is even in our laws.
As long as you bought the work in question, it is okay to make a copy of it for your own personal (not public) use.

it comes from the time when cd's and tapes where copied up the bum for use in car-stereo's! The law provided that consumers should be protected in the case of the industry becoming a major **** and sueing you because you made a copy!

The Dutch Court allready ruled this is also aplicapble (sp?) to games!

so to all you other people who live in countries where consumer-rights are not as well protected:

NANANANANAAAA!!

 

[fingerbang143]

I got Fable 1 and the key code thing didn't work because some **** stole the key code. I tried a keygen but none worked. So I was basically stolen from

 

[Phyroxis]

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

he didnt remove anyone elses ability to use the game and he paid for it. so maybe you should try not trolling for a few minutes. i know it hurts your brain but give it a try.

Calm down, hes not a troll.

What is he/she if not a troll? After reading the thread, I just can not see how he/she does not understand when mostly everyone has said it to him/her very clearly. Therefore he/she is as blind a mule with one eye and refuses to see what has been laid out in front; or is a troll from the land of fail/someone trying to argue for arguments sake.

Something tells me that he/she will respond to my post, it will be irrelevant to me for this first half was directed at Phyroxis.

He can't be a troll, by your logic. As hes not a blind mule as he actually did see my point.

Case in point: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.265777-Is-it-stealing-to-pirate-a-game-you-own-physicaly-but-cant-install?page=4#10116370

 

[Pyro Paul]

Piracy is piracy, it doesn't matter why you're doing it. In the eyes of the law, it's wrong, and that's all that really matters. I don't see anything wrong with it, but the judge will.

i don't think you know what 'Piracy' Means.
in so many words, Piracy means Copyright Infringement...
not the act of downloading Copyrighted content off of the internet.

If you own the copyrighted item you acctually have the right to obtain a digital/electronic copy of that item through any means you think nessary. That includes downloading it off of a P2P server or Torrent.

The act of doing this is Not Illegal.
There for the Judge will be hard pressed to find ANYTHING wrong with it.

Copying the content in question- which is what would have to happen in order for it to be uploaded to said site- counts as copyright infringement, also known as PIRACY.

No. No it is not.

you Own a copy of the game, and in turn are allowed to copy it.
you are even allowed to distribute it to a lesser extent.
See Title 17 of U.S. Code, Chapter 1, Section 117.

what you do not have is the right to do is Sell copies of; or modify said content and distribute copies of it to make a profit.

 

[internetzealot1]

Its probably illegal, but in no way is it wrong. You paid for that game, and you deserve to play it.

 

[KalosCast]

Legally: Yes.

Ethically: No.

 

[Pyro Paul]

Ugh, no. You're never sold a copyright. A copyright is a set of exclusive rights given to the author or creator of an original work, which includes the rights to sell, modify, and distribute the work. Copyrights also apply to performances of non-digital works, as well, i.e., dances, comedy, or specific adaptations of public domain works (such as a recording of a philharmonic band playing one of Mozart's operas). If you were sold the copyright to, say, Doom, you would have the ability to sell and distribute your own copies of Doom using the same data. The only thing you're sold when you buy a game is the license to use the software.

Well, you're wrong. Again.

First off, you are Sold a copy of the game, and thus are protected by Copyright laws. You do not have ownership of the copyright and thus are limited as to what you can do, but when it comes down to it, you have rights to that copy you own.

having ownership of the Copyright itself gives you the power to modify and alter the content with out question and Resell it as you see fit. However, as owner to a copy, all you are allowed is the ability to copy said program for personal reasons.

Second. You do have rights to copy and Distribute Your copy of content. This is Protected under Title 17 of US Code, Chapter 1, Section 117. In so many words, you are only allowed to distribute said content with individuals that also own said content, and like wise are only allowed to obtain the content you already own/have a rights to.

To this Point Specifically...

You have no rights to distribute or profit from the original work, or to obtain said information from illegal distribution. This includes downloading the game from torrent sites and P2P sites. If you're not using your own backups or the information given to you through the actual instance of the license (i.e., the disc), you are pirating the information regardless of whether you already own the information or not.

Fun Fact:
If you own the Blizzard Game 'World of Warcraft' you unknowingly distribute the game to other players and obtain information critical to the games function from instances that are not offical servers nor the game disk.

Blizzard as of patch 4.00 introduced the 'cataclysm installer' which acts as a massive P2P network between players allowing users to more quickly download updates with less bandwidth usage then before and even allow players the capability to Play the game even while the Patch itself is still updating.

so if we are to believe "heart of Darkness", then Every one that plays WoW is a Dirty Pirate.

And really, Steam is a good example of the whole license concept. If you violate the terms of the license, Valve can revoke the licenses to all of your games by banning your account. Just because you bought a license to Half-Life 2 doesn't give you the right to obtain the information from torrent sites when your account is banned. You need to purchase a second license.

and to complete the omni-slash.
your statement... more Misleading then wrong.

If you Violate the Terms of License you are banned from your account.
however being banned doesn't delete the information on your hard drive now does it?
all it does is restrict that user from playing those games.

again, you're getting Copy mixed up with License.
You own a Copy, that means you can obtain the copy any way you want.

I bought Half-Life 2.
I have the Right to go to a P2P site and download Half-Life 2 in an hour. i can then take the data i downloaded and drop it into my steam directory. i can then start up Steam and start up Half-Life 2 with out having to way 19 Hours for the Steam-downloader to pull all the files and install it on my PC.

there is nothing illegal with that.

 

[Levi93]

I think this is a case where you could download it using illegal methods is fine, I mean you have suppoted the developers by purchasing the game in the first place but you've hit a snag a snag getting the content from the disk onto the computer.

So in summary I don't see a problem with it, you've already purchased the game and arn't getting access to to any new content.

(I DO NOT SUPPORT REGULAR PIRATES WHO DO NOT SUPPORT THE DEVELOPERS)

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

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.

Have you considered just getting games on Steam? While a laptop won't be able to play a good deal of PC games, most games (I am not sure about all of them) you can play games on any computer that can play them, no extra charge.