posted
I purchased and own legal versions of several dozen PC games. My problem is I can never find a storage method for the games that I like, and I hate having to manage the CDs. I always end up with a field of face down disks in various places on my desk.
Is it legal to use no-cd versions of the game executables? Is it ethical, assuming that I'm not loaning the game out to other people?
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
And dig through them to find the one you're looking for.
In large part, it's because I'm spoiled: a lot of games these days, e.g. free downloadable ones and most MMORPGs, run without requiring media input. Once you're used to that, finding and inserting a disk just seems so silly.Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
We used a modded X-box on the theory that we are entitled to a backup of everything we own, and it reduces the wear and tear on the DVDs.
Though, I am afraid I do have one movie I've been meaning to watch that I shouldn't, since I gave the disc back to my mom.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I've got no legal credential whatsoever so I can't tackle it from that angle. I have to say that I find copyright law to be at best confusing and at worst misused by people trying to manipulate the law for their own gain.
The spirit of the law, though, is that the original creator of a book/song/piece of software has the sole right to distribute and make money from his/her product. How you use the product once you have bought it from him or her is, IMHO, your business.
So ETHICALLY I say you're good as long as you don't distribute or sell copies to anyone else. LEGALLY...well, like I said...copyright law is confusing at best. Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
The ethical question, for me, is whether it's morally ambiguous to support third party modifications of copyrighted products that, whether my use is ethically legitimate or not, is ultimately used illegally and unethically (e.g. using no-cd hacks to play games one hasn't paid for via downloaded ISOs or whatever).
Edit: and I mean primarily used illegally/unethically, which I'm fairly sure is the primary purpose of no-cd hacks, as opposed to, say, a cd burner.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
No idea about the law, but as long as it's for your own personal use, I have absolutely no ethical problems with it.
Come to think of it, I do have some idea about the law: There was that Norwegian guy a year or so ago, who was found not guilty of (copyright infringement? Something IP-related, anyway) in a Norwegian court, for having created a program that would allow you to copy DVDs. The court held, IIRC, that just creating a tool which could be used either legally (for personal use) or illegally (for giving to others) was not criminal. Anyway, that's my memory of it, but it may be faulty. And probably doesn't apply to the US anyway. I'm just rambling to avoid going back to work.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
Eros, if you are using the programs for their ethical, and ostensibly their original purpose, to avoid the wear on disks and the hassle of running cds all the time, then you are well within your rights.
It seems legitimate to me to lend ethical uses to a program that is often used to infringe copyrights. If you are using it well and respecting the spirit of the law, then you are proving such a compromise is possible between ownership and control of your own purchased material.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Well my tablet PC at work does not have a CD drive--if I want to install stuff I dock it (ot attach a USB CD drive). It gets around the need for CDs to run software with a Virtual CD drive, on which the entire contents of the CDs are stored. I virtually load a CD, and then the software runs.
This software came preloaded and is certainly not illegal, leading me to guess that getting around the requirement of having the CD physically in the computer is not intrinsically illegal. (I suspect, though, that having a software workaround may be more legal than hacking the original software, since most EULA's seem to have language against decompiling or otherwise changing the software. But I'm just guessing here.)
I agree with everyone saying that there's no moral issue with bypassing this requirement.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
Honestly, I think it depends on the EULA. Most would argue that fair-use laws mean that as long as only a single copy of the software is installed and in use at the time, the owner is entitled to a single back-up copy. But some EULAs define that that single back-up very specifically. Arguably, if you break the EULA which you agreed to by installing the software in a way the EULA forbids, you're in breach of contract... Whether that would stand up in court or not, I don't know. The chances of such a matter ending up in court seem slim to none.
Morally, I wouldn't have a problem with it. There are several virtual drive products available for free, so I don't know how much one should worry about "supporting" a particular one. I will warn that some copy protection (the infamous StarForce being the most notable example) will potentially have a fatal hissy-fit if they discover a virtual drive.
And I will also note this is a good reason to support Stardock, which actively decided not to put CP on Galactic Civ II, allowing its purchasers not to hunt for the disk to play it.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
Yeah, click-through EULAs are not necessarily fully enforceable, particularly where specific fair-use exemptions are in place. And there's no limit in fair use on how many backups you can have, though too many 'backups' could be taken otherwise.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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