your Opinion on Piracy

[emad]

hehe, about 20-30 bucks per hundered where i buy mine

 

[vat_man]

I buy things legitimately.

Piracy makes buying legimate things more expensive.

Therefore, if you are commiting piracy, you are stealing from me.

If I find you, I will beat you up and take your wallet.

 

[risingson77]

I picked up Thirteenth Step at Bull Møøse for $9.97 (soul intact). A bargain if ever I saw one.

Another piracy question: TV shows. I have more than a few. All stuff that's not out on DVD or VHS (or is out of print, and might never be issued or reissued). Is that wrong?

 

[vat_man]

Originally posted by risingson77
I picked up Thirteenth Step at Bull Møøse for $9.97 (soul intact). A bargain if ever I saw one.

Another piracy question: TV shows. I have more than a few. All stuff that's not out on DVD or VHS (or is out of print, and might never be issued or reissued). Is that wrong?

I think Neon covered that point here.

 

[risingson77]

Meh, I know it's not illegal to tape a show for personal use. Distributing it (even for free) seems borderline...although I feel no conflict about it - if it were commercially available, I'd own it!

On that note...abandonware. For the uninitiated, it is software that is still copyrighted but the original publishing company is no longer in existence or does not make an issue of the software being distributed.

Case in point: there are tons of old games out there. Many are so rare that they can not be purchased for any reasonable sum of money (if at all). If the software is purchased from a collector, the original creators never see a dime. So why line a collector's pockets?

 

[Danoff]

Line the collector's pockets because he/she was willing to pony up the dough to buy the software. It's an investment and a risk and they took it. If you don't want to line the collector's pockets, go be a collector. Oh... but wait... you're not willling to pony up the dough are you? So then you're paying for a service.

 

[emad]

Originally posted by vat_man
I buy things legitimately.

Piracy makes buying legimate things more expensive.

things were just as expensive PRIOR to the widespread piracy we are seeing now man...what u talkin about?

If I find you, I will beat you up and take your wallet. [/B]

go right ahead, i'm piss broke thanks to school

 

[Danoff]

neon

Here's where the legal issue separates the two: broadcast media.

If you tape a show off the air or cable, it has been broadcast and therefore open to reproduction without copyright infringement, provided it is for home, non-profit use.

In fact, you're free to record songs off the radio without incurring a penalty (as long as you don't sell them). The issue comes in with direct, non-broadcast file sharing.

Isn't file sharing very much like broadcasting? I can see an argument that most file sharing places do not have permission to broadcast, but I think that the distinction between file sharing and broadcasting is a tough one to make in the digital world.

 

[risingson77]

Originally posted by danoff
Line the collector's pockets because he/she was willing to pony up the dough to buy the software. It's an investment and a risk and they took it. If you don't want to line the collector's pockets, go be a collector. Oh... but wait... you're not willling to pony up the dough are you? So then you're paying for a service.

Investment? Software isn't an investment...I have yet to see a banker talking about how much money they've made on video games.

Now, if the original copyright holders were getting a cut of the sale I might feel different....

 

[Danoff]

Anything can be an investment. I don’t hear bankers talking about their teapot collection gaining interest but they can certainly do that and collectors do it all the time. The original makers of the teapot don’t necessarily see any of the cash either. Do you take issue with that?

 

[risingson77]

It's not an investment, it's just good luck. An investment is something like a bond or a CD.

Like I said, if the original creator made money off of private sales I might feel differently. Understand also that I'm talking rare...some was never even imported to the US, and many have been out of print for longer than they were in print. Plus, I think $150+ for a used game is just foolish. Unfortunately, the demand drives the price way up. It's a great time to be a collector, but I don't feel bad about sticking it to them.

 

[Danoff]

Like I said, it's an investment. Just not in the traditional manner that you're thinking of. People choose to invest in old cars, antiques, baseball cards, rare coins, jewelry, real estate, paintings and all kinds of other things in addition to rare video games.

Some people make good money doing that, they make a living off of getting good at knowing what will become worth more in the future - what you call "good luck".

 

[Red Eye Racer]

Where do 'video game emulators' fall in this discussion?

 

[Duke]

Burned ROMs are piracy... except in the case of, as Rossell pointed out, "abandonware". If a company goes defunct, then the legal entity owning copyright to a particular game ceases to exist. Therefore the copyright technically exists, but is not enforced or enforceable due to the non-existance of the owner. It will eventually pass into the public domain unless the copyright is renewed.

If you are buying abandonware from a collector, you are paying for the physical disk, books, box, etc. and you pay for those artifacts. A car manufacturer doesn't get any money from a used car sale, either. Or you are paying for the duplication service if you are being charged for a burned copy.

 

[risingson77]

That was my point. Some companies do not make a point of pursuing copied game images, especially with older games. If they don't make an issue of it, why should we?

 

[Spock]

Originally posted by neon_duke
You're allowed to make duplicate copies of music you obtained legally for your own, non-commercial use.

but isnt that what p2p apps are doing non- commercial use? i thoght non-commercial was free, and commercial was when you sell or buy it?

(or somthing like that. and sorry if im totaly wrong, or something like that)

 

[emad]

your own, personal, non-commercial use.

 

[Red Eye Racer]

Originally posted by Red Eye Racer
Where do 'video game emulators' fall in this discussion?

anyone?

 

[Danoff]

anyone?

Duke took care of it red. See his post about ROMS (which are used by emulators).

 

[Red Eye Racer]

Originally posted by neon_duke
Burned ROMs are piracy... except in the case of, as Rossell pointed out, "abandonware". If a company goes defunct, then the legal entity owning copyright to a particular game ceases to exist. Therefore the copyright technically exists, but is not enforced or enforceable due to the non-existance of the owner. It will eventually pass into the public domain unless the copyright is renewed.

If you are buying abandonware from a collector, you are paying for the physical disk, books, box, etc. and you pay for those artifacts. A car manufacturer doesn't get any money from a used car sale, either. Or you are paying for the duplication service if you are being charged for a burned copy.

ahhhhhhhh,.. now I get it,.... thanx 👍

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by spock
but isnt that what p2p apps are doing non- commercial use? i thoght non-commercial was free, and commercial was when you sell or buy it?

(or somthing like that. and sorry if im totaly wrong, or something like that)

P2PS are where you're distributing free copies of music for other people's use, which is illegal. It's legal if you make a copy for your own use of a CD you bought legally.