Hacking Liigality

[djtaz]

its on the same server as the boxart one - and thats really slow too - not sure whats causing it , though i presume new files went onto wadder recently cause the bandwidth usage on it has trippled this month... but thats a different discussion

Thanks for fixing the twiizers thing.

 

[WiiCrazy]

Do you think it could be stickied when there are lots of stickies that contain those illegal files around?

 

[Nintendo_Chick]

Everyone here is a pirate, "no piracy" is just part of the fine print to make it harder for gbatemp to get taken down (although really it doesn't help, if someone wanted to it would be very easy to get it shut down.) No one cares.

 

[Originality]

Not everybody in the scene is a pirate. Some of us actually buy our games (albeit not all the games I play are bought - some just aren't worth paying for imho).

I'm the type to download first, buy if I enjoy it (and it's not overpriced in local GAME shops). EDIT: In answer to the post below, I am still a pirate, because some games I download I don't consider worth buying. These are usually the games I delete after playing through once. The difference is that I still buy most of my games and thus minimize my economic impact on the gaming industry (think carbon footprint, only with economy).

EDIT: Also I prefer playing off backups (or USB - all games in one place is very attractive) - keeps the originals in a better, non-scratched condition if I ever have to sell them off again.

 

[djtaz]

You may say your not a pirate , but yet you play backup games.
The law in the UK , which is where your flag says your from , states that you are not allowed backup copies without the written consent of the copyright holder , so unless you have the written consent of nintendo , you are pirating.
It doesnt matter how you percieve piracy to be in your own mind, its to do with the legal limitations in your region - if you were in canada and doing the exact same thing you wouldnt be a pirate.

Piracy is regionally bias, but none the less , you are in your country a pirate.

 

[testic-cancer]

Piracy is regionally bias, but none the less , you are in your country a pirate.

That is just ridiculous. Most of us realise that IP Law is restrictive and are fighting against it (in many different ways).

Simply copying a game you own from one medium to another is not piracy. The UK may not have a specific fair-use clause allowing it but it would never stand up in a court (it would also be a civil matter, making it unlawful rather than a criminal matter which would be illegal).

The UK does allow backup to the SAME MEDIUM.

People parroting corporate spiel helps nobody except the corporations.

 

[djtaz]

I dont make the law, but I cant deny it because you dont think its fair.

Piracy is defined as the breaking of copyright law , and copyright law in the UK does not allow backing up to the same medium in the UK. There is no exception to copyright for the purpose of private copying even to the same medium.

There is in Canada , but not in the UK.

 

[SifJar]

Liigality!

These are illegal:
a) All custom channels EXCEPT bbc.wad and one that only I have.

You dont mention HBC... i'm pretty sure its legal, and its no official channel.

Also, what is the "one that only i have"?

 

[Commadore64]

So are you saying downloading images that I did not pay for, burning them to media which I stole, playing on a Wii that I have taken (out of a car during christmas) on a tv that I took from my neighbors with out their consent...
is illegal?

Or is the stuff within the Wii that makes this illegal?
{for those that get up-in-arms...it's a joke}

 

[testic-cancer]

I dont make the law, but I cant deny it because you dont think its fair.
It's the right of every private citizen to "deny it because they think it is unfair". This is primarily to be done at Crown Court level (as a juror, finding someone Not Guilty for example), but with copyright this can't be acheived as it is primarily a Civil Offence, not Criminal.


QUOTEPiracy is defined as the breaking of copyright law

"Piracy" is a slang term and isn't defined in law as anything. IP/Copyright law in the UK has had many revisions, and you should bring yourself uptodate with it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law..._United_Kingdom will be a good start.

If you copy something you own, if you download something etc you are merely commiting a Civil Offence (actually a Civil Tort (or Wrong)).

By distributing (uploading, giving away, selling) then it becomes criminal.

As such it is unlawful, not "iliigal".

 

[mcj]

Uninformed, poorly researched, full of speculation, and another thread with something that has been discussed over and over and over.

 

[Aurora Wright]

Liigality!

These are illegal:a) All custom channels EXCEPT bbc.wad and one that only I have.

Another exception

 

[Screemer]

double post...

 

[Screemer]

double post...

 

[Originality]

If I remember, Nintendo had a statement backed up by American law stating that possessing backups of any of their games in any form (and any media) at any time (removing the 24 hour clause in some countries) from any source (downloaded or otherwise) is unlawful (using an aforementioned term).

That was for America, however each country/region has it's own independent law system and whilst many agree to the same laws, many also differ (language/culture/politics being some of the reasons for the difference). One such difference is that in the UK (from what I've heard from a few Law undergraduate friends) it is considered legal to create a backup from games you own for your own personal use (i.e. not sharing/distributing). This is simply because there is no specific clause against it in the UK, or so I am told, and thus it does not count as piracy.

As pointed out a number of times before, this debate is largely pointless and will not change anybody's behaviour. For the most part, pirates are unlawful and participate in some activities that may be frowned upon, but they're not doing anything criminal, so they won't stop. The worst they can actually do to you if anyone (namely ninty) decides to prosecute you, is confiscate the backups and/or the hardware (if it's hacked) and fine you the total cost (at RRP) of all the unlawfully obtained games.

The question that's been floating around isoHunt for the last few months is What kind of Pirate are you? There's the type that wants every game ever created for free and will download without any intention to pay. There's the type like me who "try before you buy", in downloading games to try them and only buy the ones worth playing. If I do buy the game, then I remove the downloaded backup and instead create my own backup (slightly more lawful). Then there's the type that will simply download backups of games they own just for the sake of having a backup if their games stop working.

There are other types, but I'm just giving an overview of the debate. Hardcore legalitarians (forgive the made up term) will say that a pirate is a pirate, even if the economic impact of their "piracy" is 0 (i.e. they buy the games they download). Moderate crowds will consider those with a low economic impact (try before they buy pirates) fair and are in fact increasingly encouraged by the gaming and music industry (although it wouldn't make sense for the film industry to support this).

I think everybody will agree that pirates who expect everything for free are the undesirable kind that has made this entire issue of piracy blow out of proportion. So I repeat again... What kind of Pirate are you? EDIT: Didn't 4chan come up with a variant of the ever-famous uncle Sam poster with the slogan "What kind of Pirate are YOU?"? It would be useful to link that image here if I could find it...

 

[gratefulbuddy]

I think everybody will agree that pirates who expect everything for free are the undesirable kind that has made this entire issue of piracy blow out of proportion.

I disagree. The various entertainment industries, who claim they are losing vast sums of money due to piracy, are the ones who have blown this issue out of proprtion.