The Ultimate Solution Against Copy Protection

[FinkAboutIt]

As many others, Ubisoft announced today that they want to implement a new way of copy protection. Yes, my dear developers and publishers, I'm sure that bathing in 100 billion dollars seems to be more comfortable rather than 99 billions.

It seems like we, the people, have to suggest the solution to this gigantic problem. And here it is:

When you think about for who you would copy game xyz, then you will find that it is your friends. Probably only your GOOD friends. So the simple solution to have no good friends - or even better, to have NO friends at all. Having no friends, Ubisoft & co don't have to worry about you copying their games for them. And that means: Ubisoft is evil and doesn't want you to have friends!

[go find some satire in the above or take it seriously - in any case: WRITE SOMETHIN' DAMMIT!!]

Yours truly,
Alex FinkAboutIt.com

 

[Cherry Cola]

That's one mighty fine conspiracy theory you have there. Still, it's nothing compared to my doomsday monkeys..... of doom!

I don't really care much about anything they do to have better copy protection stuff. I only get games legally and I couldn't care less about how others get their games.

Also, there's not really any discussion. I take it that you want us to comment on your theory. Well, in all seriousness, it's not very fun. At all.

 

[Jamienra]

wut?

I like my friends though....
also Ubisoft are my favourite game company at the moment, I look forward to bascially every game they churn out. So leave 'em alone you big bully!

 

[TheNamlessGuy]

DELETED

 

[Kuliani]

Just FYI, The Escapist does not condone any hint that illegal game copying or stealing is "ok". It's illegal and anyone that says they've done it will be banned for admitting to committing a crime.

I support copy protection on games, as long as it doesn't install software on my computer or pull some sort of stunt that will change the way my computer does or could work.

 

[likalaruku]

Ubisoft should just use the same copy protection as Batman: Arkham Asylum. It just f**ks with the playability & textures when you play a pirated version, then when you complain online about the bugs, everyone knows you have an illegal copy.

 

[Nevyrmoore]

Just FYI, The Escapist does not condone any hint that illegal game copying or stealing is "ok". It's illegal and anyone that says they've done it will be banned for admitting to committing a crime.

Thing is, the legality of simply copying a game as a personal backup differs from country to country. Here in the UK, the copyright law has a term called "fair dealing", which describes certain acts that are permitted to a certain degree. One of those acts are "Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program".

This means I can take any of my PC games and either convert them to an ISO format or turn them into a hard copy, and as long as I don't go completely overboard with how many backup copies of one game I have, I am not doing anything illegal.

As far as I know, the US does not enjoy this right.

 

[FinkAboutIt]

also Ubisoft are my favourite game company at the moment, I look forward to bascially every game they churn out. So leave 'em alone you big bully!

No bullying there, sport. I totally agree with you: Ubisoft publishes/makes great games that I have played over and over again. My all-time favourite is Rainbow Six Vegas 1&2. I love Assassins Creed and their screaming Raving Rabbids: AAAAAAAh!

 

[Shanecooper]

Just FYI, The Escapist does not condone any hint that illegal game copying or stealing is "ok". It's illegal and anyone that says they've done it will be banned for admitting to committing a crime.

Thing is, the legality of simply copying a game as a personal backup differs from country to country. Here in the UK, the copyright law has a term called "fair dealing", which describes certain acts that are permitted to a certain degree. One of those acts are "Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program".

This means I can take any of my PC games and either convert them to an ISO format or turn them into a hard copy, and as long as I don't go completely overboard with how many backup copies of one game I have, I am not doing anything illegal.

As far as I know, the US does not enjoy this right.

Just a question. If you are to make a back-up copy of a game, would you be allowed to loan a copy to your friend? I'm sure I'm not the only person to ever lend a game out to a buddy, and I've never heard any legal reason as to why I wouldn't be allowed to.

 

[Nevyrmoore]

Just FYI, The Escapist does not condone any hint that illegal game copying or stealing is "ok". It's illegal and anyone that says they've done it will be banned for admitting to committing a crime.

Thing is, the legality of simply copying a game as a personal backup differs from country to country. Here in the UK, the copyright law has a term called "fair dealing", which describes certain acts that are permitted to a certain degree. One of those acts are "Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program".

This means I can take any of my PC games and either convert them to an ISO format or turn them into a hard copy, and as long as I don't go completely overboard with how many backup copies of one game I have, I am not doing anything illegal.

As far as I know, the US does not enjoy this right.

Just a question. If you are to make a back-up copy of a game, would you be allowed to loan a copy to your friend? I'm sure I'm not the only person to ever lend a game out to a buddy, and I've never heard any legal reason as to why I wouldn't be allowed to.

This I'm not sure on, but considering the specific mentioning of "personal use", you're probably not going to be legally allowed to pass that backup around. The master copy, on the other hand...well, I'd need to get in contact with the UK Copyright Service about it.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Contracts can cause you to lose rights that other laws give you, and this is one such example.

Actually, I believe that if it is a statutory right in the UK then a contract would not legally be able to take it away. That is where the phrase "this does not affect your statutory rights" comes from. It doesn't mean that a seller has kindly paid lawyers to check that nothing in a contract conflicts with statutes. It means that if everything in the contract conflicts with statutes then it isn't worth the paper it's printed on and they will cave under pressure if you know your rights and confront them.

 

[Nevyrmoore]

Contracts can cause you to lose rights that other laws give you, and this is one such example.

Actually, I believe that if it is a statutory right in the UK then a contract would not legally be able to take it away. That is where the phrase "this does not affect your statutory rights" comes from. It doesn't mean that a seller has kindly paid lawyers to check that nothing in a contract conflicts with statutes. It means that if everything in the contract conflicts with statutes then it isn't worth the paper it's printed on and they will cave under pressure if you know your rights and confront them.

This basically. If you know your laws and rights, then you can have a contract you agreed to revoked or altered. At least in the UK. I'm not sure about the US, though...

 

[carelesshx]

Thing is, the legality of simply copying a game as a personal backup differs from country to country. Here in the UK, the copyright law has a term called "fair dealing", which describes certain acts that are permitted to a certain degree. One of those acts are "Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program".

This means I can take any of my PC games and either convert them to an ISO format or turn them into a hard copy, and as long as I don't go completely overboard with how many backup copies of one game I have, I am not doing anything illegal.

As far as I know, the US does not enjoy this right.

Actually no. There is no right to make copies of anything in any form for backup purposes in the UK. Fair Dealing covers reproduction of parts of a copyrighted work for very specific purposes such as educational use or for the purposes of criticism or review. (A very strict reading of UK law makes it illegal to convert a purchased CD to mp3 format for use on an ipod... or to burn downloaded track to a CD to listen in the car).

 

[Ironic Pirate]

I don't condone sharing, so can I still have friends?

 

[Nevyrmoore]

Thing is, the legality of simply copying a game as a personal backup differs from country to country. Here in the UK, the copyright law has a term called "fair dealing", which describes certain acts that are permitted to a certain degree. One of those acts are "Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program".

This means I can take any of my PC games and either convert them to an ISO format or turn them into a hard copy, and as long as I don't go completely overboard with how many backup copies of one game I have, I am not doing anything illegal.

As far as I know, the US does not enjoy this right.

Actually no. There is no right to make copies of anything in any form for backup purposes in the UK. Fair Dealing covers reproduction of parts of a copyrighted work for very specific purposes such as educational use or for the purposes of criticism or review. (A very strict reading of UK law makes it illegal to convert a purchased CD to mp3 format for use on an ipod... or to burn downloaded track to a CD to listen in the car).

Go check this website - http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law

It's the official website for the UK Copyright Service, and that URL links to fact sheet P-01: UK Copyright Law. Under section 8, "Acts that are allowed", it clearly states the following-

Fair dealing is a term used to describe acts which are permitted to a certain degree without infringing the work, these acts are:
* Private and research study purposes.
* Performance, copies or lending for educational purposes.
* Criticism and news reporting.
* Incidental inclusion.
* Copies and lending by librarians.
* Acts for the purposes of royal commissions, statutory enquiries, judicial proceedings and parliamentary purposes.
* Recording of broadcasts for the purposes of listening to or viewing at a more convenient time, this is known as "time shifting".
* Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program.
* Playing sound recording for a non profit making organisation, club or society.
(Profit making organisations and individuals should obtain a license from PRS for Music.)

So, exactly how do you explain that line in bold face...? It suddenly doesn't count?

 

[carelesshx]

Go check this website - http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law

It's the official website for the UK Copyright Service, and that URL links to fact sheet P-01: UK Copyright Law. Under section 8, "Acts that are allowed", it clearly states the following-

Fair dealing is a term used to describe acts which are permitted to a certain degree without infringing the work, these acts are:
* Private and research study purposes.
* Performance, copies or lending for educational purposes.
* Criticism and news reporting.
* Incidental inclusion.
* Copies and lending by librarians.
* Acts for the purposes of royal commissions, statutory enquiries, judicial proceedings and parliamentary purposes.
* Recording of broadcasts for the purposes of listening to or viewing at a more convenient time, this is known as "time shifting".
* Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program.
* Playing sound recording for a non profit making organisation, club or society.
(Profit making organisations and individuals should obtain a license from PRS for Music.)

So, exactly how do you explain that line in bold face...? It suddenly doesn't count?

Hmm. Fair enough then. I didn't realise there was an exception to 'no copying' for software - but I maintain that I was totally correct CDs copying thing

 

[Nevyrmoore]

Go check this website - http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law

It's the official website for the UK Copyright Service, and that URL links to fact sheet P-01: UK Copyright Law. Under section 8, "Acts that are allowed", it clearly states the following-

Fair dealing is a term used to describe acts which are permitted to a certain degree without infringing the work, these acts are:
* Private and research study purposes.
* Performance, copies or lending for educational purposes.
* Criticism and news reporting.
* Incidental inclusion.
* Copies and lending by librarians.
* Acts for the purposes of royal commissions, statutory enquiries, judicial proceedings and parliamentary purposes.
* Recording of broadcasts for the purposes of listening to or viewing at a more convenient time, this is known as "time shifting".
* Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program.
* Playing sound recording for a non profit making organisation, club or society.
(Profit making organisations and individuals should obtain a license from PRS for Music.)

So, exactly how do you explain that line in bold face...? It suddenly doesn't count?

Hmm. Fair enough then. I didn't realise there was an exception to 'no copying' for software - but I maintain that I was totally correct CDs copying thing

Ah yeah, I never made any attempt to say otherwise. Copyright law's still pretty clear on the fact that you can't legally make copies of anything else without permission. Which makes me wonder about MP3 players...