Okay, I have a whole bunch of old games that I downloaded from Morpheus: I don’t think this is illegal because I actually still own the originals (box and everything). The reason I downloaded them is because the originals won’t run on Windows XP.
Example: I have both Civ I and Sword of the Samurai (box and original discs) and I had to download them from the internet because both of my originals wouldn’t run on my computer.
Is this illegal?
Also, how long does the copyright last for games? If I downloaded Pong, or another game that was 20+ years old, is that illegal? (assuming that I don’t own the originals).
I’m wondering because, obviously, I don’t want to be doing anything illegal.
There are some provisions for copies you have of stuff you already own for personal use (note: I’m mostly familiar with Canadian copyright law, but U.S laws are very similar.)
One of the ideas behind this is to protect consumers in the event of radical changes in technology that would make their legally purchased (and licenced) items unusable.
E.g. What if I have vinyl records and record players totally cease to exist? To protect my investment in my purchase, I can copy them on to tape or CD for my own personal use. I can NOT give away the copies (even for free) – that would be piracy.
I can also photocopy a chapter of a textbook I own, so that I can mark up the copy with a highlighter when I study so I don’t damage the pages of the actual book. I can NOT photocopy the chapter for a classmate who has not purchased the book.
I’m not sure how the copyrights work for software upgrades when the OS changes. I know that for upgrades where there are new features and new fancy stuff added to the software, you are expected to pay for the upgrade (in other words, by getting the upgrade, you are paying for a whole new licence). But that is because the program has changed, not the OS.
If your new OS makes your software unusable… Hm. I’m not sure. Tomorrow I can call our IP lawyer to pick her brain. Until then, I have no answer.
Downloading pong would be illegal. That’s simple copyright.
There is a phrase - abandonware - that has been used for old, unsupported software. I not posting links (mods carry big sticks), but it’s hard to see why copyright should exist for a twenty year old unsuopported game (written for a C64)
On the other hand, the owner of a copyright can willingly release a work into the public domain, or give blanket permissions which amount to almost the same thing. This has, in fact, happened for a number of old games (although I don’t know which ones specifically).
There are probably a gajillion Pong clones out there (called “Ball and Paddle” games). I’m sure some are free. Atari dropped the ball and didn’t get around to trademarking Pong until well after everyone and their brother had already released a Pong knock-off.
Not addressing the OP but I do have my old DOS copy of Civ 1 (for windows) running on my XP machine. Just install all the files from the (3?) disks into a foulder and locate either the .EXE file or the shortcut to DOS icon and right click/ Properties/ compatibility mode- set this to Win95/ and on the memory tab you might have to set the different extended memory settings to auto.
I’ve had good success in getting most of my old games working on XP that way but there are a few that I just haven’t found the right tricks.
This is one of those areas where I believe the legality has never really been defined. For example, I have games like Zany Golf and what just might be the original Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego on 5.25" floppies. I don’t have a 5.25" drive. However, I feel that since I own the game, it’s fine if I get a download from someone else who has already done the legwork into getting it in, putting it in a zip file, and throwing it up on the net.
In fact, if you check your licensing agreements, the company has to give you a new copy of the diskette in exchange for a nominal replacement fee–$7.50 in the one I just pulled off my bookshelf. While you can argue if this would be a nominal fee nowadays for a 3.5" diskette to replace an old LucasArts adventure game, it is there. The problem is that I somehow doubt that LucasArts would follow their policy if I sent a damaged disk for my “Classic Adventures” collection along with the check for $7.50, proof of purchase (harder to hang onto after nearly a decade), a statement of the defect, and my name and return address.
The interesting thing is that despite the fine print that says “return your damaged disk for a new one” a lot of software just isn’t supported.
I wanted a second licence to use an HTML editor on a second computer at work. The software was discontinued in Feb/2000. They couldn’t/wouldn’t help because they said they just don’t have anymore CDs on hand. There is no way they could offer any support of any kind for that product even if they wanted to.
Question: I dunno about Win XP, but for the Mac’s OSX they do have a feature that will allow you to run OSX as OS 9.x because the folks at Mac realized that software companies would take awhile to adapt their software for the all-new system. Running OSX as 9.x disables a lot of features (stuff that can affect printing) but it allows you to still use your older software. Does WinXP not have a comparable function? (If not, why those Microsoft :mad: )
I know that. I guess I didn’t go far enough in making my point that that is why I believe it is perfectly justifiable to download the product if it has been discontinued, is no longer available, and you have an original copy. I believe that that, at least, is or should be legal. As for other old software that is no longer sold or supported that you don’t have, you’re probably going to be in violation. However, I only know of the IDSA to actually make a fuss about this, and a reputable abandonware site will have already blocked software under IDSA copyright control or anything else that they’ve been told to block by the copyright holder, or will redirect to a place where the software can be purchased, if at all. Personally, I think the IDSA is full of it, but that’s not for GQ. I doubt you’ll see a prosecution for downloading a twenty-year old piece of software, or even something from the mid-90s. Couple that with the fact that with companies going bust, being bought or merged with other companies, etc. makes it hard to sort out just who has the copyright and whether they really care about enforcing it.
Clearly, Atari isn’t going to waste their money on the legal fees that they would incur to track down and prosecute every home user that may have an illegal copy of Pong, (the legal fees would cost far, FAR more than the value of the licence) but the OP was asking if it is technically illegal.
Whether or not it’s enforceable is another matter.
Hence, I shall ask our IP lawyer because I too am now curious.
If it’s the same version then I can’t see how anyone could say your not entitled to do this. if you are dl’ing a different version i think you have problems.
There was a fairly comprehensive thread on this topic in the last 6 months or so. My position in that thread (which I think was probably the majority position) was that there is no such thing as abandonware in the technical legal sense, although certainly there is software out there that you are never going to get sued for using, for practical reasons.
IANAL, but software copyrights are a significant part of my job.
Contrary to some of the opinions expressed here, the software you downloaded off Morpheus is illegal, unfortunately. There is no provision of U.S. or international copyright law that lets you use a copy of someone else’s package, even if it was the same version that you yourself owned. The fact that you’re downloading a different version, for which the copyright holder would otherwise have expected revenue, makes the issue even more clear-cut.
And Princhester is correct; there is no statutory provision for the abandonment of a copyright (unlike trademarks, which the holder is obliged to defend or lose). While there might be practical barriers to a copyright owner pursuing the illegal use of un-supported software, there is no legal issue.
You may well be right (in terms of what the average licence agreement might say) but I suspect that you overstate the general position.
Surely it all depends what your licence agreement says? There is no reason in principle why the licence agreement couldn’t be worded simply to say that you are authorised to load “Software X” on one machine with no restriction at all on how you lay your hands on the code.
Again, that may not be what the average licence does in fact say, but there is no restriction in US or international copyright law that I am aware of that would prevent such a loose licence.
So you bought game X for OS Y and now you would like to have the same game X for OS Z and you think you should get it for free? How does that compute? It is a different product which required hours of work. If I have program X for Windows am I entitled to get it also for Mas OS for free? I don’t get it. It is a different product with different code whicgh required labor to produce. That’s like saying I already own the 9th symphony by Von Karajan so now I am entitled to get it for free by Kon Jakaran. I don’t think so.
OTOH, and in the real world, I doubts the feds wil be knocking your door down.
The way I stated the situation is as what the law allows. Certainly it’s possible that a copyright holder might permit more lenient terms, but we were (IMO) discussing what rights copyright law provided to the purchaser.
For instance, Microsoft’s license for Office requires a separate license for each machine that it is to be installed on. Corel’s license for WordPerfect allows it to be installed on multiple machines by the same person, as long as only one copy is in use at any one time. Corel has chosen a more generous use of their copyrighted material than they are entitled to under the law.