PC Games section full of warez

[tueidj]

It seems a lot of the games in the PC section are full commercial titles (warez), many of which are still being sold online at various sites. For example:
Alone in the Dark 1 & 2 (GoG.com)
Star Control II (GoG.com)
Blood (GoG.com)
Descent 1 & 2 (GoG.com)
Doom 1 (Steam)
Doom 2 (Steam)
Duke3D (GoG.com)

I'm sure there's many more, those are just what I found within a few minutes of looking. Even the games that aren't being sold anywhere today are still copyright and should not be hosted; new "old" games appear on GoG all the time. I suggest the entire section be taken offline until the legality of each individual game is checked.

 

[The Catboy]

Filetrip now holds abandonware, those files have been discussed before and have been approved for upload.

 

[Deleted_171835]

If it's being sold on Steam, is it really abandonware then?

 

[MelodieOctavia]

I don't think Alone in the Dark, Doom series, nor Duke Nukem is abandonware.

 

[tueidj]

How is it "abandonware" if it's still being sold? Where is this previous discussion?

 

[The Catboy]

How is it "abandonware" if it's still being sold? Where is this previous discussion?

This was discussed by the Staff.

There are also games nowadays that are freeware and still being sold
http://www.amazon.co...r+scrolls+arena

Abandonware is a rather vague grey area, but we deemed any game that requires Dos to play are OK to upload.

 

[tueidj]

Well I think the staff have been misled. How is this any different from hosting ROMs which are still sold today as virtual console games?

There are also games nowadays that are freeware and still being sold
http://www.amazon.co...r+scrolls+arena

That may be, but it's not the case for these games is it? Several of the hosted downloads even still contain readme.txt files saying they are not allowed to be redistributed.

 

[The Catboy]

Well I think the staff have been misled. How is this any different from hosting ROMs which are still sold today as virtual console games?

There are also games nowadays that are freeware and still being sold
http://www.amazon.co...r+scrolls+arena

That may be, but it's not the case for these games is it? Several of the hosted downloads even still contain readme.txt files saying they are not allowed to be redistributed.

As I said, there was a discussion over this, it was deemed that any file that requires DOS to operate are OK to upload. There was also a lengthy discussion between myself and Costello about how we will handle them. Then a new rule was instated and posted right at the top of the game section

Abandonware games are games that were released a long, long time ago (in our galaxy though) but that are no longer commercially exploited, more generally games that were "abandoned" by their publisher. They can generally be downloaded freely and safely, but for most games you will need an MS-DOS emulator such as DosBox.

 

[Urza]

The term "abandonware" has no legal meaning.

You are uploading copyrighted files that you hope nobody will file complaints about since they're old. No different from ROM dumps of console games.

 

[Thesolcity]

The term "abandonware" has no legal meaning.

You are uploading copyrighted files that you hope nobody will file complaints about since they're old. No different from ROM dumps of console games.

You mean Abandonware and Public Domain aren't interchangeable?!?

Whatever, any lawsuits should they appear won't be directed at me, so no fucks given.

 

[Foxi4]

The term "abandonware" has no legal meaning.

You are uploading copyrighted files that you hope nobody will file complaints about since they're old. No different from ROM dumps of console games.

Technically incorrect. Games can enter the Public Domain sector via various channels - for example, if their trademark expires and is no longer updated, the original owners of the trademark die, so nobody can file claims, the publishing rights expire or the original owners of the trademark declare the games Public Domain, which has happened before.

An example of that is the entire line of official Vectrex games which is now Public Domain, declared so by Jay Smith, the owner of the trademark.

 

[the_randomizer]

Well I think the staff have been misled. How is this any different from hosting ROMs which are still sold today as virtual console games?

It's not, despite the fact most of those games are not being sold, but then there's the Virtual Console and 3DS Shop, but a very grey area nonetheless.

 

[tueidj]

As I said, there was a discussion over this, it was deemed that any file that requires DOS to operate are OK to upload. There was also a lengthy discussion between myself and Costello about how we will handle them. Then a new rule was instated and posted right at the top of the game section

Abandonware games are games that were released a long, long time ago (in our galaxy though) but that are no longer commercially exploited, more generally games that were "abandoned" by their publisher. They can generally be downloaded freely and safely, but for most games you will need an MS-DOS emulator such as DosBox.

....
These games obviously don't meet that rule, they are still being sold. Duke3D for example is even on xbox arcade; hardly a game that has been abandoned by its publisher.

 

[Hadrian]

As I said, there was a discussion over this, it was deemed that any file that requires DOS to operate are OK to upload. There was also a lengthy discussion between myself and Costello about how we will handle them. Then a new rule was instated and posted right at the top of the game section

Abandonware games are games that were released a long, long time ago (in our galaxy though) but that are no longer commercially exploited, more generally games that were "abandoned" by their publisher. They can generally be downloaded freely and safely, but for most games you will need an MS-DOS emulator such as DosBox.

Then it's ok for a rom of Earthbound SNES to be uploaded there as Nintendo won't re-release it due to licensing issues.

It's the same thing, unless the owners of the games in question outright say "we're abandoning this game, it's ok for you to download it without paying" or the game is now in public domain then it is considered warez.

One of those areas where we should just kill the files just in case. It's not like people can't get hold of them easily elsewhere.

 

[Thesolcity]

The term "abandonware" has no legal meaning.

You are uploading copyrighted files that you hope nobody will file complaints about since they're old. No different from ROM dumps of console games.

Technically incorrect. Games can enter the Public Domain sector via various channels - for example, if their trademark expires and is no longer updated, the original owners of the trademark die, so nobody can file claims, the publishing rights expire or the original owners of the trademark declare the games Public Domain, which has happened before.

Something can be Abandonware without being Public Domain, though.

 

[Foxi4]

Something can be Abandonware without being Public Domain, though.

Abandonware is a term with no legal meaning.

 

[the_randomizer]

As I said, there was a discussion over this, it was deemed that any file that requires DOS to operate are OK to upload. There was also a lengthy discussion between myself and Costello about how we will handle them. Then a new rule was instated and posted right at the top of the game section

Abandonware games are games that were released a long, long time ago (in our galaxy though) but that are no longer commercially exploited, more generally games that were "abandoned" by their publisher. They can generally be downloaded freely and safely, but for most games you will need an MS-DOS emulator such as DosBox.

Then it's ok for a rom of Earthbound SNES to be uploaded there as Nintendo won't re-release it due to licensing issues.

It's the same thing, unless the owners of the games in question outright say "we're abandoning this game, it's ok for you to download it without paying" or the game is now in public domain then it is considered warez.

True, but there are still numerous games floating around that generate revenue to second-hand shops but not Nintendo. The only thing that prevents one from legally downloading ROMs is the fact the copyrights are still intact. Personally, I don't care what people do with ROMs of deprecated systems the don't generate money, but at the same time, games that are being actively sold, well, you get the idea. What people do in their own time is their business.

 

[Thesolcity]

Something can be Abandonware without being Public Domain, though.

Abandonware is a term with no legal meaning.

Hence why it can be one but not another. Abandonware CAN become public domain, but its not safe (In our society) to just claim something nobody has touched for a while to be fit for upload and redistribution without the original author(s)'s consent. Catboy said he allowed Abandonware, but just because its labeled that doesn't make it legal to host. Unless I'm entirely missing the point, that seems to be the issue.

 

[Urza]

The term "abandonware" has no legal meaning.

You are uploading copyrighted files that you hope nobody will file complaints about since they're old. No different from ROM dumps of console games.

Technically incorrect. Games can enter the Public Domain sector via various channels - for example, if their trademark expires and is no longer updated, the original owners of the trademark die, so nobody can file claims, the publishing rights expire or the original owners of the trademark declare the games Public Domain, which has happened before.

An example of that is the entire line of official Vectrex games which is now Public Domain, declared so by Jay Smith, the owner of the trademark.

I didn't state nor imply that games could not enter the public domain. I'm speaking to the idea of "abandonware": that because a franchise or game is "old" that it's okay to distribute the copyrighted materials in question.

You're also incorrect in the association of trademarking with this issue. Copyrights and trademark are two very different things, the latter having little relevance here. Copyrights (in the US and many other countries) will not expire on their own for many decades barring the holder explicitly releases them.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I think legally we need to be referring to freeware, not abandonware. And out of that list I think the only freeware game is Star Control II.