Copyright/Piracy

[Goemar]

Well I can't say I read EVERYTHING above but well, read a fair but and go the general gist. Anyways, here's my 2 pence on the whole thing.

Sometimes piracy doesn't matter, even if it's not morally right. For example if someone downloads something they would never pay for (the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot or Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure for the PSP) then sure it's not morally right - but if you was never going to put any amount of money towards them ayway I find it hard to say it's wrong. It's not like you're taking anything away from those companies.

Another form of piracy I have no issue is is downloading something you already own. Before Monster Hunter Unite introduced installs Monster Portable had terrible loading times. To get passed this I downloaded the game (using my own UMD to make the copy). Technically I believe this would be illegal. Even though I still had the UMD in the PSP (because, hell, what else would I be playing?) I'm not sure what the legal side of the situation is.

As for sprites. You know, technically, yeah they are copyrighted and I'm sure if Nintendo or whoever REALLY wanted to they could remove them from the internet. But well, they don't loose any money because of them. Now if someone takes a load of sprites and makes a paid for iOS game - then that should be illegal. Hell even if they made a free game it should be wrong. But just how a photo of Mona Lisa isn't stealing either is displaying sprites. Basically sprites themselves aren't illegal, it's more what's done with them. Things like Dorkly's funny sprite videos are a huge grey area, and in that kind of situation I think it's really up to the company. Though from a legal standpoint it may avoid copyright law as they are being used for an completely different purpose and possibly protected by parody laws.

[Koh]

When it comes to piracy, I'm a firm believer it in not being an issue for things that are no longer in production/discontinued and sold properly; if the only way to get a hold of them is through second hand purchasing (eBay, etc.), then there's no issue here. The companies aren't losing any money. Also if you've already bought the product already, but the physical thing is failing for whatever reason (CD scratches, dried up battery in the cartridge, etc.).

However, if it's something you can still buy legally, and the money will indeed go to the producers, then there's no reason to pirate it other than greed. Not having the money to afford something is not a valid excuse to pirate something; if you don't have the funds to do something, you simply can't do it.

Some people try to argue that you wouldn't pay for the game if you just played it at a friend's house, but that reasoning doesn't work. To begin with, that requires someone to have already bought the game. Secondly, when the game trades hands for use, it also trades availability; while your friend has the game, you don't have the game. Duplicating the game so that both of you can get it using one master version, which roms most certainly do, violates the copyright laws. Again, however, I don't think this is an issue if you've already bought it and need a new copy, or if it's something no longer properly sold anywhere.

[Kriven]

However, if it's something you can still buy legally, and the money will indeed go to the producers, then there's no reason to pirate it other than greed.

I disagree with this to limited extent. DRM-free game cracks as opposed to buying a controlled version of the game that might require you to have online access, for example. Scans of comic books which are only available in print. There are legitimate reasons for piracy that aren't fiscal, but it's situational.

[DarkGrievous7145]

Well I can't say I read EVERYTHING above but well, read a fair but and go the general gist. Anyways, here's my 2 pence on the whole thing.

As for sprites. You know, technically, yeah they are copyrighted and I'm sure if Nintendo or whoever REALLY wanted to they could remove them from the internet. But well, they don't loose any money because of them. Now if someone takes a load of sprites and makes a paid for iOS game - then that should be illegal. Hell even if they made a free game it should be wrong. But just how a photo of Mona Lisa isn't stealing either is displaying sprites. Basically sprites themselves aren't illegal, it's more what's done with them. Things like Dorkly's funny sprite videos are a huge grey area, and in that kind of situation I think it's really up to the company. Though from a legal standpoint it may avoid copyright law as they are being used for an completely different purpose and possibly protected by parody laws.

Yeah, it's a lot to read.

Yeah. Technically, they could take the stuff down, but the lashback they'd take from the fan-bases would be massive. I daresay this would get a hacktivist organization involved, and they don't need or want that. Fair use is supposed to protect fan works and parodies, and other special cases. But just like public domain, this is being slowly eroded-away. It also doesn't help youtube doesn't give a shit their contentID system is a massive failure.