The "Freeola Customer Forum" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Software Piracy! Wahoo!
Fact: It's illegal to sell second hand copies of games without the copyright holder's permission.
*Glares at SR*
Fact: It's illegal to sell second hand copies of games without the copyright holder's permission.
*Glares at SR*
Page:
I don't think the entire answer does just revolve around the availability\cheapness of CD burning. I've got a DVD/CD Burner, broadband, theres piles of CD Albums I'd like, but I have no intention of downloading\burning them. Same with anime - tons of stuff I want, and could get, but I don't because I prefer to buy it. Ultimately I think anything on piracy will come down to cultural\economic reasons and explanations - not the technology and nit picking the law.
I haven't read all the links or anything, but I remembered that when home taping was one of the big worries in the 80's, Hungary(?) put a tax on the sales of blank tapes which was then paid out to the record companies.
Nowadays it is CD burners that are making the difference. Not just in the music industry, but also the software industry.
Perhaps a few pence on the price of a CD, whilst not making up the loss through piracy itself, may go someway to help. Raking in a few million a year instead of nothing is better after all.
Just my tuppence worth.
Nowadays it is CD burners that are making the difference. Not just in the music industry, but also the software industry.
Perhaps a few pence on the price of a CD, whilst not making up the loss through piracy itself, may go someway to help. Raking in a few million a year instead of nothing is better after all.
Just my tuppence worth.
FantasyMeister wrote:
> WOAH!!!
>
> Further research:
>
> 1) It is illegal to import games from other territories, like NTSC
> games into a PAL region, as under UK law this infringes copyright.
Slight problem, PC games are not territorially licensed and contain no such reference to being for use in one or more territories exclusively. Secondly the ruling seems to be in relation to a person making illegal modifications to hardware in order to play them and the territories argument seems to be more a way of proving the illegallness of the chips in question than an actual statement of law itself.
You're also undermined by the fact that no legal action has ever been taken against a retailer who sold imports - Nintendo got at Lik Sang through Lik Sang's selling of illegal hardware and NOT the games themselves.
In other words I think you can use the quotes, but their legitimacy is qquestionable and any gamer reading it will dismiss it as the comment of someone who hasn't actually looked in the real world. Think about it, tons of stores across the country openly sell imports, and none of them have any problems at all.
> WOAH!!!
>
> Further research:
>
> 1) It is illegal to import games from other territories, like NTSC
> games into a PAL region, as under UK law this infringes copyright.
Slight problem, PC games are not territorially licensed and contain no such reference to being for use in one or more territories exclusively. Secondly the ruling seems to be in relation to a person making illegal modifications to hardware in order to play them and the territories argument seems to be more a way of proving the illegallness of the chips in question than an actual statement of law itself.
You're also undermined by the fact that no legal action has ever been taken against a retailer who sold imports - Nintendo got at Lik Sang through Lik Sang's selling of illegal hardware and NOT the games themselves.
In other words I think you can use the quotes, but their legitimacy is qquestionable and any gamer reading it will dismiss it as the comment of someone who hasn't actually looked in the real world. Think about it, tons of stores across the country openly sell imports, and none of them have any problems at all.
Good luck with the project FM, keep us updated with what you find out.
Have to pick a list of 6 projects from a list and will be given one of the 6. A few good ones, top choice so far for me is to design a champ manager style game for the sport speedway.
Have to pick a list of 6 projects from a list and will be given one of the 6. A few good ones, top choice so far for me is to design a champ manager style game for the sport speedway.
WOAH!!!
Further research:
1) It is illegal to import games from other territories, like NTSC games into a PAL region, as under UK law this infringes copyright.
2) It is illegal to make a backup copy of ANY software unless the license gives you the right to do so. Under UK law, that right to make copies remains exclusively with the copyright holder unless specifically granted under the terms of license to the buyer, which it isn't in the case of most PC-CDROM, PS2, XBox and Gamecube games.
Source: Sony vs Paul Owen, Case No. HC 01C0 5235, 2002.
Court ruling can be seen here:
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/ pipermail/ukcrypto/2002-May/019034.html
Further reading seems to indicate that over the last 2 years the law hasn't changed, so these rulings are still in effect.
Played any good imports lately, anyone?
;)
Further research:
1) It is illegal to import games from other territories, like NTSC games into a PAL region, as under UK law this infringes copyright.
2) It is illegal to make a backup copy of ANY software unless the license gives you the right to do so. Under UK law, that right to make copies remains exclusively with the copyright holder unless specifically granted under the terms of license to the buyer, which it isn't in the case of most PC-CDROM, PS2, XBox and Gamecube games.
Source: Sony vs Paul Owen, Case No. HC 01C0 5235, 2002.
Court ruling can be seen here:
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/
Further reading seems to indicate that over the last 2 years the law hasn't changed, so these rulings are still in effect.
Played any good imports lately, anyone?
;)
AliBoy wrote:
> What is it you are studying and where abouts?
Access to Computing, going on to do a degree next year in the same area. We were asked just to pick any topic that was close to the area we were hoping to end up doing a degree in and that we enjoyed discussing.
Seeing as I've been advocating more education regarding piracy in schools for years I figured this project would be a great opportunity to get some backing (for free, college even pay for the questionnaires to get sent out).
Maybe I can wangle Sony into sending a few thousand out too with OPSM2 magazine or something...
> What is it you are studying and where abouts?
Access to Computing, going on to do a degree next year in the same area. We were asked just to pick any topic that was close to the area we were hoping to end up doing a degree in and that we enjoyed discussing.
Seeing as I've been advocating more education regarding piracy in schools for years I figured this project would be a great opportunity to get some backing (for free, college even pay for the questionnaires to get sent out).
Maybe I can wangle Sony into sending a few thousand out too with OPSM2 magazine or something...
Belldandy wrote:
> Hope some of this is helpful in some way, if not, oh well!
Every little helps :)
Availability of hardware (CD-RW etc) is one aspect being looked at. It doesn't explain the laid back attitude to piracy though, that needs deeper thought. I really think it's just a case of people not knowing that they're committing piracy when they copy a PC game for a mate, or later on go on to make a couple of hundred copies of Windows XP for their new HQ when they go into business for themselves later on.
So the main questioning will be along the lines of:
Are you aware that you are breaking the law whilst performing these activities?
and the main footwork will be assessing just how much end-user copying goes towards making up a total of the world wide piracy problem. At present it's assumed that organised counterfeiting is the major contributer, hopefully this report will throw up some interesting figures for ELSPA and co.
> Hope some of this is helpful in some way, if not, oh well!
Every little helps :)
Availability of hardware (CD-RW etc) is one aspect being looked at. It doesn't explain the laid back attitude to piracy though, that needs deeper thought. I really think it's just a case of people not knowing that they're committing piracy when they copy a PC game for a mate, or later on go on to make a couple of hundred copies of Windows XP for their new HQ when they go into business for themselves later on.
So the main questioning will be along the lines of:
Are you aware that you are breaking the law whilst performing these activities?
and the main footwork will be assessing just how much end-user copying goes towards making up a total of the world wide piracy problem. At present it's assumed that organised counterfeiting is the major contributer, hopefully this report will throw up some interesting figures for ELSPA and co.
Sounds interesting and better than most projects.
What is it you are studying and where abouts?
I get to pick a choice of 6 projects soon and will be told soon after which to spend quite some time designing/implementing and testing.
Lets hope I get a decent one.
What is it you are studying and where abouts?
I get to pick a choice of 6 projects soon and will be told soon after which to spend quite some time designing/implementing and testing.
Lets hope I get a decent one.
Also, by claiming organised crime is anything involving 3 or more people, it leaves the report open to ridicule from people who buy copies, who know the people they are buying from, and know they have jack all to do with organised crime.
I think a good direction to go at this project would be from the fact that the hardware is so easily adaptable, and the software so easily copied. Another aspect, certainly in the field of software and DVD copies, is that the copied item may allow people to buy something they could not possibly buy legally in this country.
Take, for example, the anime problem. The UK has, still, an appalling release list of anime titles. On eBay are numerous far eastern sellers, who for a reasonable price, will sell whole series of anime episodes, which are playable on any DVD player. They're copies, high quality, but copies all the same. They're are literally hundreds of sellers selling just them, and eBay has never shut down one of them, and people buy from them. in many cases the episodes are only available on Region 1 DVD.
So, as an anime fan, do I buy a multi-region player, import region 1 DVD titles, pay import tax on something that I could not buy here anyway, thus end up paying about £25 for a 120min DVD, or do I buy from the Far East, get around 1000 mins - the full series - for £20, which will play on my player ? I and other anime fans want to be able to buy these series on Region 2, we cannot.
Same thing goes for hardware modifications, they have a viable use in that they allow the playing of import titles which are not available here.
It's a fascinating subject but all too easy, I feel, to just cover old ground and not really say anything new. Ultimately I reckon you could link it to postmodernism and the economy but that may be taking things too far for GCSE level - which I'm assuming this is ?
You basically have a situation whereby the makers of software are trying to appeal to more and more people, whilst videogames are replacing more traditional forms of entertainment. At the same time the hardware used is becoming cheaper, thanks to a pricing structure used by the makers whereby they sell for little to no profit but need to make money on games. The hardware get's simpler, and the increased public knowledge of technology means the adaptation of it is also simpler - more and more people know how to modify or work on hardware - unthinkable 20 years ago, and this is thanks to the growing avaialability of such hardware to consumers. So whilst the makers want wide appeal, they forget that, in general, it's only certain groups of people who can afford to constantly buy new games/hardware at full price. Trouble is more than just people in those groups want it, and in any area where people want what they cannot buy then criminal activity will occur. Notice that this explanation does not reason why people cannot buy the item - this way it could be for economic reasons, or simply the unavailability of it where they live, or it not being released yet (as is the case of movies copied to DVD).
Hope some of this is helpful in some way, if not, oh well !
I think a good direction to go at this project would be from the fact that the hardware is so easily adaptable, and the software so easily copied. Another aspect, certainly in the field of software and DVD copies, is that the copied item may allow people to buy something they could not possibly buy legally in this country.
Take, for example, the anime problem. The UK has, still, an appalling release list of anime titles. On eBay are numerous far eastern sellers, who for a reasonable price, will sell whole series of anime episodes, which are playable on any DVD player. They're copies, high quality, but copies all the same. They're are literally hundreds of sellers selling just them, and eBay has never shut down one of them, and people buy from them. in many cases the episodes are only available on Region 1 DVD.
So, as an anime fan, do I buy a multi-region player, import region 1 DVD titles, pay import tax on something that I could not buy here anyway, thus end up paying about £25 for a 120min DVD, or do I buy from the Far East, get around 1000 mins - the full series - for £20, which will play on my player ? I and other anime fans want to be able to buy these series on Region 2, we cannot.
Same thing goes for hardware modifications, they have a viable use in that they allow the playing of import titles which are not available here.
It's a fascinating subject but all too easy, I feel, to just cover old ground and not really say anything new. Ultimately I reckon you could link it to postmodernism and the economy but that may be taking things too far for GCSE level - which I'm assuming this is ?
You basically have a situation whereby the makers of software are trying to appeal to more and more people, whilst videogames are replacing more traditional forms of entertainment. At the same time the hardware used is becoming cheaper, thanks to a pricing structure used by the makers whereby they sell for little to no profit but need to make money on games. The hardware get's simpler, and the increased public knowledge of technology means the adaptation of it is also simpler - more and more people know how to modify or work on hardware - unthinkable 20 years ago, and this is thanks to the growing avaialability of such hardware to consumers. So whilst the makers want wide appeal, they forget that, in general, it's only certain groups of people who can afford to constantly buy new games/hardware at full price. Trouble is more than just people in those groups want it, and in any area where people want what they cannot buy then criminal activity will occur. Notice that this explanation does not reason why people cannot buy the item - this way it could be for economic reasons, or simply the unavailability of it where they live, or it not being released yet (as is the case of movies copied to DVD).
Hope some of this is helpful in some way, if not, oh well !
Alternatively they could scrap the Intellectual Property side of software so that when you buy MS Office or Halo 2, you buy the software itself and not just the licence... that one hadn't occurred to me before.
Page: